


The Vote

by aphrodite (cabinseventy)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Character Death, Explicit Language, F/M, M/M, Survival Horror, Werewolf Game, i guess, not gonna lie theres maybe five more but i got lazy, or Mafia Game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-12-18 17:34:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18254591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabinseventy/pseuds/aphrodite
Summary: The rules of the game are simple. Kill before you're killed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ok, here's the thing. i planned out who's to die when/why/how up until the end, in maybe mid january? and then i wrote the first two chapters i wrote during a 4 hr car drive at night, so it might be very tossed together and choppy. anyway, my main point with this fic is:
> 
> \- i love horror and wished there was more fic of it  
> \- i'm just exploring gore, so hopefully by the time this is done i'll get better at it!!!!
> 
> anyway, extremely and entirely based off the werewolf/mafia game. i also read a manga called **jinrou game** which was SO amazing omg. that's pretty much the entire plot for this, except i made it more pjo-ish. 
> 
> this might be my main fic for now until i get bored or start officially writing the magic au that i mentioned like 2 years ago lmao
> 
>  
> 
> OH, and the valgrace is gonna be. um hinted until i get comfortable. ngl, i would say i'm using the tag for clout, but what clout can be gained from that lmaooo ~~maybe i should tag it solangelo then~~

I

“ _Nico!_ ”

“ _Hazel? Are you_ -”

Leo groaned, keeping his eyes closed. To his right, a child was crying loudly, and the two, Nico and Hazel he assumed, were speaking in panicked and hushed tones.

He tried opening his eyes but was bombarded with bright light, so he quickly closed them. Where was he? He couldn’t remember anything of importance. The last thing he remembered was walking after school. He had been heading towards the movies, right? He was meeting people, but he couldn’t possibly remember _who._

Whoever the kid was, he was still crying. Loudly. _Very_ loudly. Can he shut up for a minute?

“Hey, you,” Leo tilted his head toward the noise. “What’s wrong?”

He was only answered with more hiccuping. Leo sighed. _Okay_. He didn’t like kids for a reason. Leo tried opening his eyes, hissing at the brightness.

...Now, where the hell was he? He tried to stand up, but his legs had fallen asleep and his feet were cuffed to his chair. The chair refused to budge, probably drilled into the floor. His hands were free, thankfully, sitting on top of a white tabletop counter.

Creating a circle in the room, were other teenagers, almost all passed out in their own chairs. At the center of the circle was a strange carving into wooden planks. Leo shivered- something about it wasn’t right. The wood planks were cut into a circle but didn’t match with the rest of the room’s stone floors.

The white light came from above, casting brightness to every inch of the room. There were no windows, but Leo could feel a draft coming from _somewhere_. A single and grand double doors of mahogany stood nearby at the wall closest to Leo.

Leo scanned the room. He recognized some of them. That was good, right? He knew people! Across the circle was his best friend, Jason. Jason’s head was tilted up at the ceiling, exposing a long neck and jutting Adam’s apple. That had to be painful. Jason often complained about his neck and shoulders hurting from baseball and wrestling.

And two people down his right, past the crying kid who was starting to calm down, was Piper. She was in a more comfortable position, head resting on her shoulder.

This was good right? His two best friends were with him. He could recognize a few other faces too: across the room was some kid from one of his classes, Francis or Franklin or something close to that, and he could easily remember the bright frizzy red hair of Rachel. And was that Jason’s sister?

Next to Francis/Franklin, a pale boy with dark hair stared at Leo. Two people away from him, a dark-skinned girl with golden eyes wiped at her eyes, clearly terrified. The two kept quiet, exchanging looks between each other.

“Hey,” Leo whispered to the boy next to him. The kid, surprised, looked at Leo with big wet eyes. “Do you know where we are?”

The boy shook his head. He had to be younger than ten, maybe around eight? He had pretty big arms for an eight-year-old. It was strange though. Everyone else in the room looked to be around Leo’s age. The question grew bigger and more pressing in his mind:  _where the hell was he?_

“What’s your name?” He tried talking to the boy again.

“Harley,” The kid said. “What’s going on? I wanna go home.”

Leo’s heart panged. He hesitantly reached out and patted the kid’s back. “You’ll get home soon. I’m Leo, by the way. What do you last remember?”

Harley’s face scrunched up. “I was… at home… and really sick so I think my brother was getting soup.”

Leo awkwardly smiled, not really sure how to respond to that. Was this kid _kidnapped_? But then again, didn’t the same happen to Leo? The knot in his stomach pulled tighter.

“At least you’re not sick anymore.” He pointed out. Harley thought about it, and then slowly grinned at Leo.

“Maybe my brother’s coming to get me!” Harley patted Leo’s leg. “He can do anything!”

“I bet he can.” Leo watched as a girl began to wake. She jumped in her seat and her eyes started darting around the room. She looked furious. Leo focused his attention back on Harley. “Tell me more about this brother of yours.”

Harley glowed, launching into a story about the time his brother and he built a tree-house.

* * *

Sometime later (Leo’s watch was broken because it had stop displaying numbers and read as 00:00), everyone had woken up. They all had the same story as Leo: going about their normal lives and then waking up here. No one had a clue about where they were or why.

“Who the _fuck_  kidnapped me!” Angry Girl screamed at the ceiling. “I’ll kill you bastards! I’ll fucking kill you, you hear me!”

“-Connor? You okay?” The teen sitting to Leo’s left yelled across the room. They had the same face, definitely siblings. Did everyone know someone else in the room?

Jason was trying to talk to his sister to calm her from getting too angry, while Piper nervously pulled at her hair. Leo tried keeping Harley company, hoping the kid wouldn’t start crying again. If anything, Harley was slowly growing attached to Leo.

A male, sitting between Francis/Franklin and Angry Girl, scanned the room with no emotion. He scowled when he caught Leo staring at him and turned away. Leo frowned.

“Quiet!” The girl on Harley’s other side and to Piper’s left, shouted over everyone. She had unbraided her hair and it shook out in a wavy dark shroud over her shoulders. She was probably Puerto Rican- Leo used to be friends with some and they made fun of each other’s Spanish while drawing on sidewalks with chalk. “Does anyone know what’s happening- and not all at once!”

Someone raised their hand. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Gee, thanks for the addition, Jackson,” Jason’s sister, Thalia, threw at him. The guy shrugged.

“Okay,” the Puerto Rican girl spoke again. “Maybe we should go around and say our names and age first? Reyna, seventeen.”

Leo resisted the urge to respond with _Hi, Reyna_ like he was in AA. Probably not the time. Next to him, Harley leaned on Leo, uncertain if he should talk. The entire group stared at him.

“Go ahead,” Leo encouraged him… wait, when the hell did he become this kid’s dad? He seriously hated kids sometimes.

“Harley. I’m seven an’ a half! My birthday’s in January.”

Silence. And then- “Fuck,” Someone on the other side of the circle said what everyone else was probably thinking. Jeez, how messed up _were_ these captors of theirs? Seven years old. _Seven_.

“Go Leo,” Harley tugged on Leo’s army jacket. Leo brushed him off. He wasn't this kid's best friend.

“Leo, sixteen.” He had only turned sixteen a couple of weeks ago. Assuming he was only passed out for a few hours. Leo shivered at the thought of losing more time of his life.

They carried down the circle, Leo only remembering half of the names. Francis/Franklin’s name was actually _Frank_ , as Leo had to mentally correct. And the first two people who had been awake were named Nico and Hazel, fifteen and thirteen, respectively. The oldest person was Thalia who was twenty-three.

“Okay,” A blonde with big curly hair said. Her name was Annie-something. Leo didn’t really care. “Now what-”

A loud musical tone sounded above them. They all looked up, searching for the sound of the noise. An ceiling speaker was over the circle in the center.

“ **You’re all awake** ,” A voice crackled through. The woman’s voice was deep but definitely feminine. It had a strange echo to it. “ **Waking up is the most exciting part of the day.** ”

Immediately, the room burst into chaos. Angry Girl, Clarisse, started shouting profanities at the speaker, swearing to rip the woman’s head off. Harley whimpered, squeezing Leo’s hand.

“Who is that?” Harley asked.

“Um,” Leo obviously couldn’t say that he thought she was their kidnapper. “A nice lady, I think?” Okay, that was probably the _worst_ thing he could’ve said.

The musical tone was played again. She must’ve turned the intercom back on. “ **From now on, we’ll be playing a special game. Let's call it the Titan game.** ”

“Fuck you!” Clarisse yelled. The girl next to her whispered something, and Clarisse shot everyone a suspicious glare.

“ **The rules are fairly simple. There is a Titan and the rest are mortals.** ” The woman said. “ **Every night, the Titan kills a mortal. The next day, all have the chance to vote out who they believe to be the Titan. If the mortals all die, the Titan wins. If the Titan is voted out, the mortals win the game. You are rquired to be in the bedrooms from 2300 hours to 600 hours.** ”

“What’s that necklace for?” The girl next to Clarisse suddenly asked. She blushed when all eyes turned towards her. Clarisse squinted at her neck.

“You have it too.” Leo looked around. A thin leather stand looped around Harley’s neck, with a single black bead falling in the middle of his collar bone. He touched his own neck, tugging lightly at the bead resting there. Warning bells rang off in his head.

“ **Those who do not vote will have a vote against themselves. Participation is mandatory.** ”

“It won’t come off,” The girl pulled at her necklace. “I want it off!”

“I wouldn’t do that...” Another girl said, voice soft and raw.

“Shut up!” Clarisse yelled back at her. She turned to her friend and grabbed at her own necklace. “Come here so I can rip it off you.”

“ **Look under your chairs and you’ll find a card with your room number and role. In addition to a Titan and Mortal, there is a God, Demigod, and Oracle.** ”

Leo reached under his chair, finding an envelope taped under the wooden seat. The manilla envelop peeled open, and he pulled out a small trading card. It looked like a Pokemon card with MORTAL written at the top. The picture shifted with movement, going back and forth from a picture of an Ancient Greecian in white robes, to the same man, now angry with a pitchfork and torch. NO ABILITIES, read the decription. ROOM 3004.

He glanced up, trying to catch Jason or Piper’s eyes. Both were horrified. Piper cradled her head in her hands.

“ **The viewing of another’s card is strictly prohibited. The destruction of the building and its infrastructure is strictly prohibited-** ”

“I’m going to pull now, Katie,” Clarisse warned the girl.

“You shouldn’t do it,” Reyna suddenly spoke up. Her hand gripped her own card and envelope tightly. Was she a mortal too? Or was she the Titan? “We all have one. Leave it be for now.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Clarisse snarled. “I’m gonna pull on 3, Katie.”

Katie nodded, grabbing the handrests of her chair. “Okay.”

“ **Punishment will result in death.** ”

“One.”

“ **The Demigod cannot be killed by the Titan, but can only be killed through the vote.** ”

“Two…”

“Katie, leave it,” The boy next to Leo said, voice tight.

“ **The Oracle can see one other player’s role every night.** ”

“Three!”

 _SPLAT!_ Like a marshmallow in a microwave, both Katie and Clarisse’s heads expanded and expanded until they popped. Clarisse’s body slammed onto the table, one of her eyes rolling into the center like a grape. Brown hair drifted to the ground, a chunk of scalp hitting the wall behind them. A thick iron smell hit the teens’ noses all at once.

Leo gagged, and hugged Harley close to him. The people surrounding what was left of the two girls started shrieking and tearing at the blood that splattered over them.

“HOLYSHIT, HOLYSHIT, HOLYSHIT,” Someone chanted through tears.

Piper covered her mouth, tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes remained on the back wall where blood had splashed onto.”

“Katie-” The boy next to Leo started and then turned to his side and vomited. “ _Fuck_.”

Music again. The cheery music was an evil reminder. “ **That is an example of punishment.** **Day 1 is complete. You may go to your rooms now.** ”

A loud clang. The shackles on their feet were undone. Leo wobbled to his feet and helped Harley up, careful to keep the kid from seeing the scene. The mantra in his head was relentless: fuckfuckfuckfuck _fuckfuck_ -

“ **And remember… The Titan is an expert.** ”

The double doors slammed open.

* * *

 The group walked through the halls in silence. Ultimately, it was Reyna and another girl, Annabeth, who lead the group.

Leo walked somewhere in the middle, with Jason and Piper at his side. Harley held onto Leo’s hand, keeping quiet. Somehow he must’ve found out what happened, or he might’ve picked up on the vibe of the older kids.

“It’s so good to see you,” Piper said, squeezing Leo’s other arm. “I don’t know what I’d have done if I was alone.”

“Me neither.”

Jason groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. Like everyone else, he was extremely cautious about the necklace. “What can we do? Besides vote. And when you _don’t_ vote, it’ll be a vote against yourself.”

“I don’t want to kill someone,” Piper mumbled.

“I know,” Jason said. "But you don't want to die, do you?"

The group passed down another hallway with doors lined up on the left. 2001 read the first door.

“Oh, this is me,” Annabeth stood by the door. Two males stopped next to her, one looking sickly and the other casual, with hands in pockets. “You guys should get to your rooms before it gets too late. Se said you need to be in your rooms by 11, right?” She pointed down the hallway where a giant digital clock blinked with red numbers. 10:42. “We’ll regroup after surviving the night.”

“What do you mean?” Piper asked.

Annabeth folded her arms, “well, there’s the Titan. He or she is experienced, so they know how to get around the game. What’s to stop them from taking their first kill tonight?”

“I don’t want to die,” One of the guys next to her shuddered. He had crutches under his armpits which were both decorated with stickers and decals. The other guy lightly punched his shoulder.

“I’ve got your back, Groves. All we gotta do is find the Titan before they find us.” He turned to everyone and cupped his hand over his mouth, “Yo, if you’re the Titan speak up now, so the rest of us can survive!”

No one moved, until Annabeth rolled her eyes and opened her door. “Just get to your rooms, guys. We want to prevent as many unnecessary deaths as possible.”

There was a murmur of agreement that rippled through the group. If possible, Leo was sure everyone here wanted to go home feeling as guilty as they could.

They traveled up to the next floor. The rooms were organized so the second floor was purely girls, the fourth was purely boys, and the one in between was mixed. Seven people to a floor, but someone occupied every other room. Leo wondered why the spacing. They have pretty organized captors.

Leo arrived at his room, 3004. In 3002 was someone named Octavian. Scowly McSowlyFace, Leo dubbed him before the guy slammed the door. 3006 was empty. It probably belonged to Clarisse or Katie. Leo’s stomach turned at the thought. 3008 was Harley.

Leo bent down next to Harley before they went to their rooms. “If you need something, just knock, buddy. But don’t leave your room until morning, okay? Don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Okay,” Harley nodded, eyes wide. He hesitated and then gave Leo a big hug, before darting to his room. Leo sighed and stood up. Someone was going to die tonight. What would he do if it was the little kid?

“Hey,” Jason shifted. The rest of the small group had already moved on to the other rooms, the 11 PM curfew dawning near. This hallway had the same clock as the one downstairs, this time reading 10:55. Piper had already escaped to her own room.

“Dude,” Leo rubbed his eyes. “I just wanna go to bed and wake up from this fucked up place.”

“Yeah.” Jason said. He pulled out his card from his back pocket. The card’s back was black with gold lines creating a rectangle. “Are you a mortal too?”

“Yeah.” Leo pulled out his own. He didn’t dare to show its face to Jason for fear of being covered by head chunks. “I’ll ask Harley what he is tomorrow. How ‘bout Pipes?”

“Mortal. She said as long as she wasn’t the Titan than she’s fine.”

“Yeah,” Leo glanced at the clock. 10:57. “Shit. You should get to your room ASAP.”

Jason nodded. “Right. I’m 4007 if you need me.” He waved goodbye and hurried down the hall to hit the staircase. Leo slipped into his room, and closed the door behind him. There wasn’t any way to lock it. There wasn’t any way to protect himself tonight.

The room was the same as a standard hotel room. A queen sized bed in the corner and big windows along one of the walls. There was a large flat screen against one of the walls, with a comfortable looking couch and coffee table across it. In the other corner of the room were a desk and chair. Leo flipped through the desk drawers finding a pad of paper and a few pens. No Bible or Book of Mormon in sight like most hotels.

An armoire near the bed held colorful T-shirts and jeans in his size. One of the lower drawers had clean underwear and socks. Leo changed into a clean shirt and boxers. He flicked through the channels on the TV but couldn’t find anything interesting. Nothing on the news signaled a search for 21 missing teenagers. There was rain expected in a few days. Not like that information was helpful- Leo might not even make it until then.

The time in the corner of the TV claimed it to be 11:20. Leo muted the news and sat at the desk. He made a list of all the names he could remember:

 _Jason, Piper, Harley, Octavian, Annabeth, Jackson, Groves, Francis, Hazel, Reyna, Thalia, Rachel_. With second thought he added to the list: _Creepy Pale Girl, Creepy Pale Guy, Blonde Guy With Good Teeth, Guy With Braids, Twin 1, Twin 2_.

On the other side of the list he wrote down _Clarisse_ and _Katie_.

He didn’t have much to add. He knew Jason and Piper, and sort of knew Francis and Rachel. Wait- that’s not his name, is it? Leo crossed out _Francis_ and corrected it to _Franklin_.

Th twins knew each other, obviously. And the one who sat next to Leo seemed to have known Katie, who _might've_ known Clarisse. And if he remember correctly, Hazel and Creepy Pale Guy knew each other as well. Groves, Jackson and Annabeth all seem to know each other. Thalia and Jason were siblings. Leo ripped out a new paper and made different groups.

 _Group 1: Jason, Piper, Thalia, Me_ , he wrote.

 _Group 2: Twin 1, Twin 2, Clarisse, Katie_.

 _Group 3: Hazel, Creepy Pale Boy_.

 _Group 4: Jackson, Annabeth, Groves_.

_Unknown: Octavian, Reyna, Creepy Pale Girl, Blonde Guy With Good Teeth, Guy With Braids, Franklin._

He added Harley to his own group because the kid only trusted Leo right now. Leo yawned and checked over his list. One of them was the Titan. One of them was a killer.

But there were other roles, right? A Demigod, Oracle and God. It’s too early to figure any of that out and he couldn't remember what they did- and _what is he doing_? Leo leaned back and rubbed his eyes. He was _playing_ the game.

As a kid, he’d always loved strategy games and puzzles. This was the ultimate mystery. But it’s _not_ a game. This was Life or Death. He tilted hie head back and stared back at the TV. 11:38.

Leo clicked off the TV and the light, before jumping on his bed. It was comfortable enough for him to want to never wake up. That thought made Leo sit up. God. He stared at the door, watching the sliver of light peek through. His heart pounded in his ears.

In a few hours, he might not be able to hear that again.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Leo woke up in cold sweat. He stared at the ceiling and pushed the blanket off. It should be August, but the room was freezing.

The sound of footsteps tapped from outside the door. Leo held his breath as the feet stopped in front of his door.

Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i originally had 11 chapters but i changed it to ? because i'm not really sure if the original set up i was doing would work well for me. gotta keep it fresh yo ;)
> 
>  
> 
> [seating chart](https://cabinseventy.tumblr.com/post/183843871593/the-seating-chart-for-my-fic-the-vote-on-ao3)

II

Leo was dreaming. He could tell that much from the talking table and the weird rainbow shimmer surrounding him.

“Leo!” the table shook at him.

“Buford!” Leo screamed back with just as much excitement.

The table zipped through the air and then stopped an inch in front of Leo’s face. “Leo!”

“Buford!”

Then he woke up. Leo stared at the foreign ceiling. He was in the same room as yesterday. This wasn’t a dream that he could wake up from. Leo sighed and threw on some clean clothes. He left his MORTAL card on the desk and stepped out of the room.

On the first floor were the kitchen and dining area. The room with double doors was locked. Leo didn’t want to go in there anyway- memories of last night sneaked into his head as shadows plaguing his mind. Jeez. That _really_ happened.

At the table, the Puerto Rican girl was eating cereal. A few seats away, a blond guy sat with his head down, skinny arms folded around him. Leo peeked into the fridge. Fully stocked. The cupboards were full as well, and there seemed to be enough dishes for everyone.

“‘Morning,” Leo coughed, pulling out cereal and milk. It was lactose-free, so _someone_ was lactose intolerant. Considerate kidnappers.

“Good morning.” The girl gave him a stiff smile. “Remind me of your name again?”

“Leo,” He sat across her. “And you’re…”

“Reyna.” She said. They didn’t talk much after that. A few minutes later, more people trickled in.

“Aw sweet,” Jackson grabbed the cereal box from Leo. “Love this stuff.”

By ten o’clock, nearly everyone was eating breakfast. Leo was glad to see Piper, Jason and Harley were able to make it to the next day with him.

There weren’t enough seats in the kitchen, so the group spilled into the living room area. Leo sat with his friends on the floor, done with breakfast. It was quiet, and everyone was on edge. Leo quickly found out why.

“Did everyone survive?” Hazel, Leo assumed, asked worriedly looking over the group. “Did anyone die last night?”

“Sound off,” Reyna proposed. “Starting with room 2001.”

“That’s me,” Annabeth called out from the toaster. She looked tired, with her hair all messy and her shirt showing off a white bra strap. She pulled her sweater around her tighter. “Who’s 2003?”

“Me.” A girl meekly called out.

“Whose _me_?” Jason asked.

“ _Me_ ,” The deathly pale girl raised her hand. It trembled in the air, and she looked unsure of herself. Her dark eyes jumped around on everyone’s face. “Bianca. I’m 2003.”

“Okay. Next.” Annabeth’s toast popped up.

“That’s me,” Piper raised her hand. “Piper, Room 2005.”

They carried through the second and third floor without issue. It wasn’t hard to figure out that room’s 2013 and 3006 were Clarisse and Katie’s rooms. When they hit the fourth floor, however, there was one problem.

“So whoever is room 4001 isn’t here.” Thalia cracked her knuckles. “This isn’t a joke- whoever’s room it is, better speak up.”

Leo looked at her. “Oh _yeah_ , threatening them will _definitely_ make them say something.”

“Shut up, pipsqueak.”

“Hey,” Jason said. “Uncalled for.”

“Yeah,” Leo echoed. “Uncalled for.” At that point, Jason gave Leo a look.

“Maybe we should check?” Hazel suggested. “Maybe he didn’t know to come out?”

“I’ll go.” The blond who had his head down when Leo first came to the kitchen sat up. It was Octavian. He glared at everyone and stood. “Come if you want. I don’t care.”

Only Leo, Annabeth, Jackson, and the twins followed. Leo entrusted Piper with Harley, and the girl had quickly gone about talking to him. Groves and Rachel huddled by the window, speaking in hushed tones, and Reyna and Thalia argued over the group’s next decision.

They traveled up the stairs with fear creeping from behind.

“Do you think his head blew off?” One of the twins whispered behind Leo.

“Travis, chill,” the other snickered- Connor, Leo’s mind remembered. Annabeth shook her head at them. Jackson skipped a step and turned to join their conversation.

“Maybe he’s just really bad at waking up.”

“Maybe he’s dead,” Octavian shut down the conversation.

They reached the door. One of the twins knocked, though Leo couldn’t say which one. There was no answer. Octavian pushed open the room and stepped inside.

It took a second for the lights to flicker on. The room was mostly the same as Leo’s. A huddled mass lay in the bed, covered by blankets.

“Close the door,” Octavian ordered. Someone did, Leo didn’t know who. He was more focused on the bed. More specifically, the person on the bed. “What’s his name again?”

“Will,” Travis said, suddenly serious. They all turned to look at him- gone was the joking tone from a few seconds ago, replaced with a pale face and the nervous licking of lips. “He was one of those kids who was always sick, so I saw him at the nurse’s office a lot.”

“Will,” Annabeth repeated. She neared the bed. “Will.”

She peeled off the covers and stepped away. Jackson immediately was at her side and hugged her close before she could collapse. He looked at the sight and then turned away, resting his cheek on her head. “ _Jesus_.”

Octavian peered at the bed with mild interest. Connor and Travis looked like they were both going to be sick. Leo quickly understood why when he took his own peek.

The whites of Will’s eyes were dark red and swollen. His mouth dribbled with dried blood at the corner, staining the bed. His neck had been crushed and bent to an unnatural angle, like a bendy straw. Tugging on the sheets revealed a giant yellow stain, and the smell of piss sharply hit their noses.

Leo grabbed at his neck, feeling vulnerable by its delicateness. He couldn't imagine dying like that.

“Damn,” Octavian threw the covers over Will. He was disgusted by the sight and folded his arms, looking at them expectantly. “Well?”

“Well, _what_?” Leo was the only one who wasn’t shocked speechless.

“Who did it?” Octavian said like it was obvious. “Who’s the Titan?”

“Fuck off, man.” Connor leaned on Travis for support. “Will just _died_.”

“And we will too if we don’t vote out the Titan.” Octavian gestured behind him at the body. Leo’s eyes slid from the alive boy to the dead one. His knees began to grow weak. “Why do you think I came here? For a first look at the kill method, of course.”

“Dude,” Jackson stepped away from Annabeth. “Can you not?”

“I’m just saying.” Octavian’s eyelids lowered. “Strangling… hmm.”

“You’re fucked up,” Leo stepped away from him. “How do we know _you_ didn’t do it? Did you bring us here to gloat?”

Octavian raised his hands. They were thin and pale. His long bony fingers were perfect for an instrument, but not for murder. He knew this. He knew Leo would figure that out too. Octavian raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, tucking those hands away. “You’re not strong enough either, but you seem smart. Got any guesses?”

“Leo,” Annabeth addressed him. Her lips were pulled into an almost-scowl, and her eyebrows were furrowed. “You don’t have to answer that. Saying a name is as bad as killing someone.”

But it was too late. Names and bodies were already flying through his mind. There weren’t too many physically strong people to think off. Who was strong enough to strangle someone to death?

“Come on, Percy,” Annabeth lead Jackson, or Percy, out the room. “Do you want to tell them or me?”

“I think you’d be more sensitive-” Percy’s echoed in the halls, but he was too far away to be heard. Travis and Connor quickly slid out the room after that. Leo moved to leave but stopped at the door. Octavian hadn’t even budged from the bed.

“Are you coming or what?” Leo asked, uncomfortable. Creepy. Who stared at a dead guy like that?

Octavian gave a final long look at Will and followed Leo out. He turned the light off and closed the door softly. “Strangling,” Octavian mumbled. “How tall do you think he was?”

“What?” Leo _really_ didn’t want to talk about the topic anymore.

“How tall do you think Will was? Maybe 5’6?”

Leo shook his head. “I don’t know, and I don’t think it really matters anymore.”

“You’re about 5’6, right?” Octavian was a few inches taller than him. They entered the staircase together, Leo a few steps ahead of the other. “Who’s taller than you?”

“ _You_ ,” Leo shot back.

“That blond fella you’re always hanging out with. What’s his name?”

“Fuck you.”

“Though the Asian guy is pretty big too,” Octavian continued. “Big hands.”

Leo nearly missed a step. “You heard Annabeth. Accusing someone is as bad as killing someone.”

“But _not_ accusing someone is like killing yourself, isn’t it?” Octavian wasn’t wrong. “What good is suicide if you’re not the Titan?”

“To get out of this hell.”

“And let the murderer win? Stupid.”

They reached the first floor. Leo could hear the sobs and exclaims of the group. Annabeth or Percy must’ve already said what happened. “So you think the Titan is Franklin?”

“Frank?” Octavian’s eyes bore into Leo. “I didn’t say anything like that.”

“You literally just did.”

“I was throwing ideas out in the open through logic. You made your own choice.” Leo stopped walking at that, but Octavian didn’t notice.

Was Leo blaming Frank? No, that can’t be right. He didn’t want anyone to die. He barely knew Frank. Though would it be different if he _did_ know him? Leo shuddered and reentered the den.

He wasn’t assuming anything. He doesn’t want anyone else to die.

* * *

 Around lunchtime, everyone had gone back to their rooms to think and fully process the deaths. Leo ate a bag of chips he found and went exploring his prison.

In the living room, sat Bianca who stared out the window, curled up in an armchair. She didn’t seem to hear him when he walked through the room.

Connor and Travis stayed in the kitchen. They sat on the island, sharing sodas and crackers. They didn't speak to each other, too busy with wiping wet faces and blowing noses. Earlier they seemed pretty cool. Not exactly murderer type. But could Leo be sure?

Leo’s tour around the first floor revealed what must be the front doors to the building. They were locked, but Leo couldn’t tell how considering the keyhole was on the inside of the house. Someone in the house has to have the key.

Besides the front door, the kitchen, dining room, and living room, the first floor was empty. The voting room was locked as well, no doubt going to be open in a few hours to collect its next victim. Some stairs lead to a basement, but fearing a torture chamber, Leo ignored them.

A kid, maybe thirteen or fourteen was sitting on those steps. Leo looked over his shoulder, finding the boy huddled over a pad of paper.

“Austin, right?” Leo sat down next to him on the top step. Below them, the stairs curved around a corner and lead into darkness. “What’re you writing?”

He tilted the pad for Leo to read. All Leo saw were scribbles of lines and hastily drawn circles and dots. “I write music.”

“Like, write _write?_ ”

“Like, write write,” Austin put down another note. “This whole _prodigy_ thing. I have an audition next month, and I’m supposed to compose at _least_ 3 classical pieces and a jazz one.”

“That’s, uh, cool.” Leo pointed to a circle. “I’ve taken about 3 music classes, and from what I learned, I can tell you this is an F.”

Austin nodded. “This would be so much more easier if I had my sax or a keyboard here.” His fingers twitched in his lap.

“I bet,” Leo scanned the paper. Nearly the entire sheet was filled, and along the sides were hastily scrawled writings of _Stuck? Trapped? Sharps to low Gs. Fast. Lonely. Sixteenth notes?_ “Can you sing it for me?”

“Maybe when I’m done,” Austin took his pad back. His pen spun in between his fingers. “I don’t let anyone hear my music until it’s perfect.”

“Fair enough,” Leo stood up. “Let me hear it one day when we get out.”

Austin shrugged and ducked his head, continuing to write in his pad.

The second floor was the girl rooms. He heard a lot of movement from 2009. The door was partially open, but when Leo leaned to take a look, it was shut. At the end of the hall, underneath the clock was a communal bathroom. 3 or 4 showers and sinks, and 5 stalls along the wall no urinals, so it must be girls only.

The third floor was the same. Harley had his room open, and he was watching cartoons. When he saw Leo pass by, he jumped up and ran to the door.

“Whatcha doing?” He swung on the doorframe.

“Just walking around.”

“Can I come?”

“Maybe later. Hey, look, commercials are over.”

“ _Really?_ ” Harley flew back into his room to watch more cartoons. At least he was okay. Leo closed Harley’s door and then headed upstairs.

The fourth floor was like the others: bedrooms along one wall, a clock at the end, bathroom underneath. There was an addition staircase for a fifth floor, but the top step leads to a locked cage preventing anyone from going up farther.

Leo headed back downstairs. In the living room, there was a small group huddled around one of the couches by the window.

“What’s up?” Leo asked, sitting on the armrest. Groves moved over to give him space, but Leo waved him off. “What’s going on?”

Rachel bit her fingernail, “We don’t want to vote out anyone.”

“Who’s we?”

“Us,” Groves gestured. It was only him, Rachel, Nico, and Hazel. He shook his head, “It’s too messed up.”

“But if we don’t vote then,” Nico put two fingers to his forehead and mimed blowing his brains out.

Hazel was sitting at the window, her head against the glass. Her eyes were closed. “Octavian came up to us telling us to vote for Frank. But Frank hasn’t done anything wrong!”

“Uh,” Leo definitely wasn’t going to say that Frank’s name coming up was partially his fault. “Are you going to?”

“No!” Hazel’s eyes opened. “He’s my friend! I’ve known him since forever.”

 _Group 3: Hazel, Nico, Frank_ , Leo’s mind automatically sorted. He then cursed under his breath- he shouldn’t be thinking like this. “So who else are you planning on voting for?”

“You ask a lot of questions,” Nico said.

“Uhm, just wondering.” Leo shrugged. “I have no clue what’s going on.”

“Right,” Nico’s eyes narrowed, and he zipped his jacket up.

“Grover said something about Octavian,” Rachel offered. She nudged the guy next to her. “What about him?

Grover looked embarrassed. “He’s _too_ into the game. He came to me, Percy and Annabeth about Frank multiple times already. I think he _likes_ being here.”

“He’s too obvious to be the Titan.” Leo pointed out. “If he was then he’s playing the game really bad. Or maybe super _good_.”

“That could be it,” Grover faltered. He looked down at his lap. “I don’t know who to pick anymore. Percy and Annabeth are going with Octavian, and I trust my friends.”

“Who are you going for?” Nico interrupted. He sized Leo up, eyes sliding from head to toe. His jaw clenched.

“Not sure.” Leo stood up. He checked his watch (still broken) and pointed back to the hallway. Anything to get away from Nico and his judgemental face. “Uh, I’m going back to my room now. I wanna catch some Z's before you-know-what. Actually, do any of you know when it happens?”

All he got were shrugs, and Hazel’s “No, sorry.” Leo nodded and thanked them before turning away.

Octavian and Frank, huh? Leo didn’t know much about either. Should he warn them?

Lost in thought, Leo bumped into someone.

“Oh, shit, my bad,” Leo stepped back and inwardly screamed. Just his luck.

“No, no, you’re good,” Frank said over his armfuls of water bottles. A few them had fallen to the ground and sprawled out through the hallway. “I wasn’t looking where I was going-”

“Dude, it’s on me.” Leo bent to pick up a few bottles. “Give me a sec, and I’ll pick these all up. Where you taking all these, big guy?”

“2009,” Frank said. His biceps flexed as he squeezed the bottles closer to his chest, the plastic crinkling echoing in the empty hall. His arms were each bigger than Leo’s head. “Hazel has a nasty headache.”

“Ain’t this a lot for a headache?” Leo snorted. There were easily a dozen bottles between the both of them. They headed up the stairs together, Leo picking up any bottles the Frank dropped. When they reached the landing, Frank took some of the bottles back to ease Leo’s load.

“Thanks,” Leo went. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s fine.” Frank dismissed him. He stopped in front of the door. “Can you get-” Leo grabbed the handle and pushed open the door. “Thanks.”

“No prob.” Leo dropped the bottles on Hazel’s bed. The only thing different about her room was the purple bed sheets and curtains. Now that he thought about it, Will’s bedsheets and curtains were different too, a cream color compared to Leo’s plain white. “How’d you two meet?”

“Me and Hazel?” Frank scratched his head. “Can’t remember, it’s been so long.”

“Oh, I get that.” Leo nodded. “It feels like me, Piper and Jason have been friends forever. It’s crazy that we all got stuck here together.”

“Yeah. But we’re all getting out so it’ll be fine.” Frank waved Leo out of the room. He closed the door behind them. “Do you have a plan?”

“A plan?”

“Yeah?” Frank looked down both sides of the halls, before bending his head down. “In math, you were normally ahead of everyone else and always knew how to do something before the teacher could even write it on the board.”

Leo guessed that was true. He liked math. “Yeah, but that’s different. This is life or death, buddy.”

“Oh,” Frank sighed and straightened. He gave Leo an uneasy smile. “Well, I hope we all can make it.”

Leo turned away. He felt like a liar- no, he was a liar. Oh God. Was Leo really going to vote Frank out? Was Leo really going to _kill_ him? Oh _God_.

A musical tone played from above.

“Shit,” Leo twitched. “Shit, shit, shit, shit-”

“ **Hello, children. Please head to the voting room on the first** **floor."** It was a man speaking this time, voice gruff and harsh. **"You have exactly five minutes to get there or face the late penalty.** ” The last few words sounded as if he was anticipating that.

“Come on.” Frank walked ahead. One of his steps were two of Leo’s.

Leo let out a shaky breath and followed after him. What was he going to do?

* * *

The blood on the walls and counters were cleaned up. Gone, actually, as if Clarisse and Katie never existed. But Leo could still remember the popping noise. He could still remember the screaming and the blood, and the lone eyeball staring up at him.

There were only the chairs left as reminders of them. An empty chair sat between Travis and Annabeth. He hadn’t realized that Will sat so close to him. It didn’t matter anymore- Blond Guy With Good Teeth was gone.

Music again. “ **You have 5 minutes until you need to vote.** ” The speaker crackled off, static voice gone.

“We should go around the circle with our thoughts,” Jason suggested. He kept his eyes towards the table, avoiding everyone else. “I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing.”

Octavian raised his hand, “Okay. I’m voting Frank.”

Frank’s eyes widened as Piper spoke up, “I don’t think he meant it like _that_. Just theories and discussion.”

Leo turned away from Frank. Did… did he even _know?_ Did he have any clue that people were going to vote for him?

Harley leaned up to whisper into Leo's ear, “Who are you voting for?”

“I don't know,” Leo shushed him. “Give me a second, okay?” So not only was he choosing for himself, but he was choosing for Harley too? Does Leo even _want_ that weight on his shoulders?”

Frank should've spoken next (he sat to the right of Octavian) but when he opened his mouth, no words came out. His jaw clenched tightly.

Nico spoke, skipping Frank. “Some people are playing the game more than others.”

“What?” Came from Percy, while Thalia said, “ _Who?_ ”

Nico gave everyone a death glare, so Leo assumed they weren’t getting an answer. Austin had his cheek propped up on his fist as he spoke. “I barely know you people, but _some_ people have gone around asking me about what I thought.”

“What _do_ you think?” asked Annabeth. She had her chin in her hand as if they were having a class discussion and not a talk over who they were going to execute together.

Austin shrugged with his unoccupied shoulder.

Hazel’s lip trembled as she spoke, “I don’t want to vote anyone out.”

“ _Hazel_ ,” Nico said sternly, and she dropped her head.

“Dude, lay off,” Percy was next. He rubbed Hazel back and grinned at everyone. “We’ll figure it out. We just need some time.”

“3 minutes left,” Octavian announced. Leo’s not sure how he had any way of knowing that. Percy’s grin dropped for a second, but it was just as quickly plastered on. He continued rubbing Hazel’s back and gestured for Bianca to proceed down the circle.  
  
Bianca shook her head. “I refuse to say anything about this.”

“Are you sure?” Rachel was supposed to follow. When Bianca didn’t speak again, Rachel shrugged. “I thought about it a bunch. What if we all voted for ourselves? Then we tie, and we’ll have more time.”

“No offense, but I don’t trust everyone to vote for themselves,” Connor interrupted. “Anyway, how do we vote in the first place?”

“I think we just point,” Annabeth was next anyway. She pointed her finger around the room, the digit sliding from person to person. Her hands then folded on top of the white counter. “There doesn’t seem to be another way. And if we _do_ follow, er... Rachel’s plan, we would know who betrayed the rest of us-”

“-Making them a target,” Leo finished for her. “It’s suicidal to vote someone else if we’re voting for ourselves.”

“Yeah.” Annabeth agreed.

“I don’t mind doing it,” Travis went next. Leo was supposed to follow him, and then Harley. “But I also saw my friend with his neck fucking _crushed_. I _know_ who I want to vote for.”

There was some murmuring to that. Someone else voiced their approval, but it was hard to tell who.

Travis continued, his voice hoarse. “There’s a person here who knows what they’ve done. If I can get them, then everyone can go home-”

“And what if you’re wrong?” That was Jason.

“What?”

“Well if you’re wrong, aren’t _you_ the murderer?”

“But I know that I’m not wrong.”

The intercom sang to life. “ **Make your votes now. You have twenty seconds.** ”

“Everyone vote for yourselves!” Reyna stressed. She turned to Travis. “Just for now to buy more time.”

Travis gritted his teeth but pointed to himself. “Whatever.”

“ **Fifteen seconds.** ”

“Hot damn, we’re really doing this, huh?” Thalia quirked an eyebrow. She pointed to herself.

“That’s what it seems like,” Rachel pointed to her own head with confidence. “I’m trusting you all.”

“ **Ten.** ”

Leo pointed to himself. He didn’t think it was a good idea. In fact, he thought it was a terrible idea. But up till now, everyone had been pointing to themselves. There were a few stragglers left. The biggest concern was Octavian who remained unmoved.

If he didn’t vote for himself, then whoever Octavian votes for would die. It’s simple math.

“ **Five.** ”

“What if we all died because we all had the same amount of votes?” Octavian suddenly asked. He, Hazel, Piper, and Bianca were left. Leo tensed. The thought had flown through his mind, but he had dismissed it earlier. A creeping uneasiness began to form.

“ **Four.** ”

“Don’t listen to him! Vote now.” Thalia snapped.

“Uh…” Piper looked around. She stopped at Leo who shrugged and then pointed to herself. Hazel’s finger trembled, but she eventually jerked her thumb to her own face.

“ **Three.** ”

“Stop fucking around Octavian,” Travis yelled at him. Bianca had silently pointed to herself. “Just point.”

“ **Two.** ”

“Our first vote,” Octavian raised his right hand. Was he going to point to Frank?

“ **One.** ” Octavian dropped his hand just as quickly as he flashed it. “All votes processed.”

They held their breaths. Frank was crying. Leo’s never seen a man like him cry.

“ **Tie between Travis, Leo, Harley, Reyna, Piper, Thalia, Connor, Grover, Jason, Octavian, Frank, Nico, Austin, Hazel, Percy, Bianca, Rachel, and Annabeth. You have two minutes until revote between tied players.** ”

Frank let out a breath, wiping at his face. Snot continued to dribble from his nose. “We’re okay.”

“For two minutes,” Nico mumbled.

“I _really_ don’t want to do that again,” Piper said. “And I don’t think he’ll let us off so easily again.”

“Maybe we should vote?” Leo suggested. All eyes flew to him. “It might be easier than risking our own lives again.”

“Okay,” Octavian pointed to Frank. “Done.”

“Holyshit.” Thalia’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Just vote,” Travis pointed at Frank. His arm trembled, but his voice remained firm. “Vote, and we can go home.”

“Are you sure about this?” Annabeth cautioned. “Are you all sure?”

Jason sighed and pointed. It went to Octavian. Seeing his finger, Piper pointed to Octavian as well.

“ **One minute.** ”

“Leo,” Harley called for him out of the blue. “Who are you pointing to?”

“Um, I’m not sure.” Leo lied. He knew. He knew, he knew, he knew. Was he really going to do this? “Vote for whoever, as long as it’s not you.”

“Can I vote for you?”

“No!” That was louder than Leo meant. Suspicious eyes bore into him. Leo winced and whispered, “don’t vote for me or you, okay little guy?”

“But he’s voting for you,” Harley pointed across the room. Leo’s body froze. Nico was pointing at him. A second later, and Hazel’s finger pointed as well. _What?_

“ **Fifteen seconds.** ”

“It’s fine, Harley,” Leo ignored the blood rushing in his ears. Shitshitshit. “Are you voting for Nico?”

“I don’t know,” Harley was still pointing. “Are you going to point?”

“Yeah- just. Just give me a second.”

Does he vote for Nico? Why would he vote out Leo? And Hazel? Wasn’t she Little Miss I-Don’t-Want-To-Vote-Out-Anyone?

“ **Ten seconds**.”

“Hey,” Travis elbowed him. “Are you going to vote, or what?”

“Give me a second.” Leo closed his eyes. How could Travis accuse someone so quickly? Leo didn’t want to kill anyone. Did anyone else realize that?

“Leo…” Piper mumbled. Was he the only one left? Leo didn’t want to open his eyes yet. He could still hear Frank crying, his whines getting louder. When was the last time Leo cried? Would it be today?

“ **Three.** ”

“You said you were going to vote for him!” Octavian screeched.

“Leave it alone.” Reyna, Leo guessed, advised.

“ **Two.** ”

“Traitor.”

“Really? _I’m_ the traitor here?”

Leo took a deep breath. He pointed.

“ **One. All votes processed.** ”

There was a loud slam. Did the door just open? Leo’s eyes snapped open and darted to the double doors. They were wide open, yet no one moved. The hallway was pitch black. Something growled in the darkness.

Then it appeared in the doorway. A snout came out, then ears, then a head. A black dog limped out of the door. The dog leaped onto the counter and began circling clockwise.

It walked slowly, teeth bared. The growl was low at first but grew louder by every person it passed. Piper held her hand to her mouth when it neared her, tears ready to spill out.

The dog smelled. When it was on Harley’s table, Leo quickly realized how much it stank and just how _big_ the hound was. It couldn’t be a dog- it was easily five times bigger than any Great Dane, or Husky Leo’s ever seen. If that hound attacked- that’s it. You were done for.

Leo tensed when the animal slinked past him. The eyes were completely black, no reflection in sight. Its fur was matted with something thick and black.

“Fuck,” Octavian whispered loud enough for all to hear. Leo shook in his chair as three more dogs clambered out of the hallway. They walked around the outsides of the circle. Trapped. They were trapped now.

Something touched Leo’s hand making him jump. He looked down and breathed in relief. It was only Harley’s hand. Jeez. Leo squeezed back, heart racing.

The hound on top of the counters stopped and howled. The other tossed their head back and wailed as well. For a second Leo thought, this is it. They were all going to be eaten alive.

Then the dog pounced. Someone screamed. It might’ve been Leo. The other dogs growled and jumped until it was just wild animals tearing at a person who cried out until they couldn’t.

A loud crunch echoed, and there was suddenly more screaming as blood squirted upwards like a sprinkler of red. Something cracked loudly, bones breaking and skin being shredded into. It was all going too fast for Leo to see, he just screamed and screamed at what he could see.

A loud whistle came from the hall. The dogs perked up, blood and flesh in between their teeth, and trotted back into the hall. When the final dog left, the doors banged shut.

“Holy fuck,” Nico paled, stepping away from the scene. Leo closed his eyes and banged his fist on the table. He shouldn’t have voted. Heshouldn’thavevotedheshouldn’thavevoted. _Leo shouldn’t have voted_.

On the ground, the body lay, its insides spilling out. A leg had been torn off and tossed aside like it was nothing, leaving bloodied bone sticking out from a battered hip. The chest had been shredded into, and the rib cage was left cracked and splintered open.

A few feet away, Frank’s head had rolled, eyes torn out by claws and mouth open in a soundless eternal scream.

“ **Frank Zhang had 7 votes, Octavian had 6 votes, Leo had 3 votes, and Bianca had one. Day 2 is complete.** ”

The double doors slammed open.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im testing out if I want to embed pics in this fic. if there are any problems, please tell me ASAP, whether it's tiny font or etc. 👍
> 
> a slow but necessary chap

III

Percy made dinner for everyone. Well, he made grilled cheese sandwiches with Doritos and apple slices, but it was the best thing Leo had ever tasted.

He might’ve just been happy to be able to eat for another day. There were only 17 of them left. Yesterday there had been 21 of them. How many would make it by the end of the week?

“Hey,” Piper sat next to Leo. They were sitting on the living room floor, backs against the window. It was barely 8 PM, but most of the others retired back to their rooms.

“Hey.”

“You’re thinking. What’s up?”

“Just,” Leo sighed. “Why us?”

“We all go to the same school,” Piper said. “Same town, same state, same country.”

“How do you know _that_?”

Piper shrugged. “Talked to Annabeth about it. We used to be in the public speaking club together.”

“You hated public speaking.”

“Yeah, well, so did she.”

Leo offered her the leftover Doritos on his plate. Piper declined. Above them, Connor and Travis crossed the room, heading into the kitchen. Bianca sat in an armchair, staring at the off television.

“Where’s Jason?” Leo asked.

“Showering. You smell like you need one too.”

He sniffed his armpit. _Wow_ , he _so_ needed a shower. He’s been sweating a lot- all the stress and life-death situations had been making his body out of control. Piper gagged. “Put those weapons of mass-destruction _away_ , please.”

“Smell it,” Leo pressed his armpit closer to her face. “Smell my love for you.”

“Alright, alright, I’m out of here you psycho,” Piper pushed herself up to her feet. She took his plate. “Leo, get some rest. But shower first. For the sake of _everyone_ here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo stood up. He said Good Night to Bianca on his way out, but she didn’t respond. Absent, she was very absent mentally it seemed.

In front of his bedroom, there was a shower caddy sitting on top of two fluffy towels. Toothbrush, loofah, comb, brush and even hair ties were lovingly tucked together for him. His ADHD meds were there too- the right prescription and dosage amount scribbled on the side with his name. Glancing down the hall, and the various different caddies out, this was a gift from his captors.

Leo stepped into his room. Everything was as he left it from the morning. Damn. While the free stuff was nice, some room service could’ve been cool too. He should’ve made his bed in the morning too-

“ _Ow_ ,” Leo lifted his foot. A nail stuck out of the bottom of his foot. “ _Ow, ow, ow, ow_.” Leo hopped around his room until he hit the couch. He lifted his left foot up, and sure enough, the nail was still there.

He closed his eyes and yanked. It slid out of his foot easily, but blood trickled out just as quickly. Leo threw the nail to the ground and looked around for something to stop the blood. The only thing he could think to use were the bedsheets. Which were halfway across the room right now.

Leo hobbled to his foot, keeping the other in the air. Testing how injured he was, Leo put his foot down. Only to have a familiar pain shoot up his leg.

“You’ve got to be _kidding me!_ ”

* * *

Jason was amused. He made Leo sit on the kitchen counter as he helped bandage Leo’s foot.

“Where’d you put the nail this time?”

Leo tilted to the side to reach into his pocket. “Got it right here.” He pulled out the bloody nail.

“ _Yeah_ , we can throw that out before someone gets an infection.” Jason patted Leo’s foot. “You’re good now. Need help getting down?”

“Nah, I’ll wait a bit.” Leo glanced at the time on the microwave. 8:30. “What time are you going up?”  
“Whenever you are. How else are you going to go to your room?” Jason went into the fridge.

“I’ll teleport.”

“ _Sure_ , and I’ll _fly_ my way upstairs.”

“The day you fly is the day I’ll shit my pants, dude.” Leo took the soda can offered to him. “I’ll do it, I swear. Drop a big one right into my panties just for you.”

“Please do, and let me take pictures. I’ve always wanted blackmail of you.”

“Hey, now, some people are into that.” Leo wagged a finger into that. “If you make money off my scat pics, you’re gonna owe me a pretty penny.”

Jason spat out his water from laughing, “Leo! It went up my nose!”

“I think people are into that too.”

“Excuse me,” Connor stood at the entryway. Jason turned around so he wouldn’t see the water coming from his nose, and Leo tossed him a lazy grin.

“What’s up?”

“I think someone said there were ice cream bars in the freezer.” Connor gestured to the fridge. “Just gonna grab a few.”

“ _Mi casa es tu casa_ ,” Leo goofily waved around the kitchen, while Jason tried to contain himself. Leo wasn’t helping- Jason spit out more water causing Leo to burst out laughing.

“What happened to you?” Connor pointed to Leo’s bandaged foot on the counter, once the other two got a hold of themselves. Jason sat up on the counter with Leo.

“Oh you know, stepped on a nail twice. The usual.”

Connor bit into his sandwich. “Will was good with med stuff like that. I think all those trips to the nurse’s office practically gave him a doctorate.”

Leo and Jason looked at each other. Neither had known Will before this. And they won’t ever get the chance to know him. The once joyful atmosphere that was in the room evaporated at the mention of the deceased teen.

Noticing this, Connor let out an awkward chuckle. “Sorry, didn’t mean to ruin your whole, uh, _thing_. Go back to what you were doing, I just wanted to be in and out.”

“Sorry about your loss,” Jason consoled.

“Thanks but,” Connor gave a tight-lipped smile, “it’s not over yet, is it?”

Leo waited until Connor was out of earshot before sighing and leaning on Jason’s shoulder. “Dude, what are we even doing right now?”

“We should probably figure out the Titan, soon,” Jason said. “And the other roles. God, Demigod, and Oracle, right?”

“Yeah. Can’t remember what they do though.”

“The Oracle is the most helpful to us. They can find out someone’s identity every night, so if they look into the right person, then they would be able to find the Titan-”

“-Which also makes them a giant target if they came out as the oracle,” Leo sat up and patted Jason’s shoulder. “Help me up and take me to my room.”

Jason helped Leo stand on his good foot, and the two began their trek up to Leo’s room on the third floor.

“I thought you wanted to wait,” Jason whispered. Leo’s left arm was slung over his shoulders, but because Jason was taller and stronger than Leo, he was nearly carrying the teen.

“Yeah, but I need to write all this stuff down. Can’t remember it otherwise,” Leo said. “Hurry up, you’re so _slow_.”

“You’re the one slowing us down.”

“Am not.”

“Really?” Jason promptly dropped Leo who cried out when he tumbled to the ground.  
Leo glared up at him. “You’re not funny.”

“Hold on,” Jason crouched in front of Leo, back facing him. “Get on.”

“I am _not_ getting on your back. Do you _like_ embarrassing me?”

“Fine. Walk there yourself-”

“Whoa, whoa, buddy give me a sec.” Leo tried his best to hold on. He linked his arms around Jason’s neck. “Okay, get up.”

Jason stood, and Leo hooked his legs around his waist. “Dude. If I fall off, I’m suing.” At that Jason’s hands held the undersides of Leo’s thighs to keep him steady. He slowly started going up the stairs.

“Hey. Leo.”

“What?” Leo pressed his face into Jason’s back. Through the thin cotton, he could smell the clean fragrance of soap.

“You’re heavier than I thought.”

“Are you-” Leo climbed up higher so his chin could rest on Jason’s shoulder. “-Are you calling me _fat?_ ”

“I would never,” Jason had the biggest shit-eating grin Leo’s ever seen. Leo ground his chin into Jason’s shoulder, so it hurt. “Oh, hey, hey, _hey_ that hurts, Leo, stop.”

“Hurt you? I would _never_.”

“I swear, Valdez, I will drop you.”

* * *

 

“You don’t know what Harley is?” Jason pointed to the child’s name.

“Nah, I forgot to ask,” Leo leaned back on the couch. “Though if he was anything but mortal, he’d probably be super excited and would ask me a bunch of questions.”

_Harley- Mortal._

“Maybe we should add the others,” Jason thought out loud. “It’s possible they could’ve been something but never got the chance to say it. Or even _know_ , for Clarisse and Katie.”

“Yeah, but can you imagine how dumb our luck would be if one of those four were something?” Leo snorted. “Though we can say for sure Will isn’t the Demigod, I think. That’s the one that can’t die by Titan but like, die during the vote?”

Jason nodded. “Clarisse and Katie didn’t technically die by Titan, so they’re still possible. And Frank of course.”

 _Will- Not Demigod._  
_Clarisse-?_  
_Katie-?_  
_Frank-?_

“Ugh.” Leo tossed his head back on the couch. The ceiling was plain white. “It’s too early to do all this theorizing anyway. That’s what made us get Frank when he didn’t deserve it.”

“I voted Octavian.”

“I remember,” Leo sighed. “I voted Frank and then he… you know.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Jason reminded him. “It _was_ a group vote. Frank only died because the _majority_ of the group voted for him.”

“Uh huh,” Leo staggered to his feet, using the armrest to help him up. “I’m gonna go to bed soon so you should get going. I’m hella tired.”

“Alright,” Jason nodded. “See you in the morning, hopefully?”

“I know I’m annoying but not _kill-me-annoying_.” Leo gave a thumbs up. “See ya. Keep the lights on for a bit.”

He then hopped over to his bed and sunk into the bed. It was _way_ too comfortable. Leo reached for a pillow, but something shiny caught his eye. He lifted the pillow and made a face.

“What the…?” A tiny flip top lighter lay on the bedsheets. The silver container flipped up, and Leo rolled down the flint wheel. It sparked a few times before a small flame whispered in front of Leo’s face.

Leo didn’t have a lighter, and he definitely did not leave one here.

He closed the lid, running his fingers over the small object. On the back, in the corner of the top were worn out letters. C t S. Definitely not the LV of his own name.

Leo tossed the lighter onto the night table. He’ll have to figure that out tomorrow. Maybe it was someone else’s? There wasn’t anyone with those initials here, was there? Clarisse maybe? Or Connor?

Hmm. He’ll have to think on it later. Leo fell into a restless and dreamless sleep.

* * *

Day 3 and he was alive. That was good? That was _good_.

Leo swung his feet over the bed, testing his left foot. It was sore, but he could walk. Leo was probably over exaggerating yesterday. The lighter still laid on the nightstand, reminding Leo that he hadn’t imagined it.

Maybe it wasn’t the first game, Leo thought to himself, grabbing his shower caddy as he left the room. Could it be possible that there was a game before this? Maybe _more_?

It’s fucked up, to say the least. How many kids have died at the hands of their kidnappers? Leo stared at the shower drain. There was a clump of long blonde hair curled up at the drain. Disgusting, but also strange. Was it from someone here or from someone from the last game?

Leo jumped, hearing one of the toilets flush. Communal living was a joy, wasn’t it?

“‘Morning,” Leo peeked out the shower curtain. At the row of sinks, Rachel was brushing her teeth. She smiled at him, toothbrush still in mouth and then spit.

“Hey.” She yawned and slipped out of the bathroom.

Despite hearing the door close, Leo still felt the nagging sensation that he was being watched. There wasn’t anyone else in there- he could tell by the isolated sound of his running water. He stood under the shower head, closing his eyes.

Maybe there was other evidence that there was a previous game. He could find a way to win the game- to save as many people as possible. Leo would have to do some digging. But not too much. Nico had already illustrated what asking questions could mean. Leo obviously didn’t need everyone to distrust him.

He shut off the water a squeezed the water from his hair. He still felt like the object of a voyeur. Leo scanned the ceiling. There we go. A small camera blinked a red light at him from the corner of the room.

Gross. Who puts cameras in the _bathroom_? Wait… where else were there cameras?

Or a better question… who was watching them?

* * *

When he was fixing himself cereal again, Leo made another mental list.

 _Annabeth, Octavian, Reyna, Jason._ They were the ones who probably had their heads in the game and were thinking ahead. Reyna and Octavian knew each other, from what Leo could observe, which might become a problem.

Jason knew as much as Leo, so his safest bet was to talk to Annabeth about it. He took his bowl and knocked on her door. 2001.

Percy answered, “Yo.” He kept the door closed except for the sliver of his body.

“Can I talk to Annabeth? Or am I interrupting something?” Leo mumbled through a mouthful of food. Luckily, Percy was fluent in Chewingese.

“No you’re good, hold on,” He closed the door. A second later, he opened it, allowing Leo to come in. The room was the same as his own, except for the gray curtains and sheets. Annabeth was sitting on her couch with Grover, the TV displaying a nature documentary.

“Leo?” Annabeth lifted her head to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Just had a few questions. Um. Privately.” Leo raised the spoon to his mouth.

“Sure,” She stood up, and Percy jumped over the chair to take her place. He dropped his head on Grover’s arm.

“If you leave, we’re _so_ changing the channel.”

“It’s my room,” Annabeth nudged him in the stomach with her bare foot. “You guys can always go _upstairs_ to your _own_ rooms.”

“But _Annabeeeeeth_ ,” Grover pleaded. He looked pale.

They went out into the hall, sitting outside her door. She grabbed her notepad and a pencil on her way out. “What’s up?”

“What are the chances of us _not_ being the first game?”

“What do you mean?” She was wearing a white tank top and shorts. Both her toenails and fingernails were cut short. “Like, other people were playing before us?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Leo said. His knee bounced up and down, and he tugged his shorts to cover more of his thighs. “I think there were other people here.”

Annabeth’s eyes darted to his bowl of milk then back to him. “Makes sense. The Titan is an expert, so he or she must’ve been the Titan in the last game.”

A chill went down Leo’s spine. “So a seasoned killer, huh? Don’t like the sound of that.”

“Probably something we should keep to ourselves then,” Annabeth agreed. “I’ll look around for signs of another game if it helps. Anything else?”

“Nah, I think that’s it,” Leo moved into a squat, ready to get up. “You need anything?”

“Me? No,” Annabeth drummed her fingers on her legs, “But Reyna’s making a chart to figure out who knows who. Something about connections pre-game, but I can’t remember why. So you should probably go see her if you can.”

“Gotcha,” Leo nodded. “Make sure to grab breakfast- I think Jason said he’s making lunch and he can turn mac and cheese into cement.”

“Noted. Also-” Annabeth grabbed Leo’s wrist before he could go. “Do you know who it was?”  
No, Leo had nearly forgotten about the mysterious death. Someone died tonight, didn’t they? Shit. He didn’t see Jason, Piper, or Harley yet. Fuck. Crap. Oh shit, shit, _shit-_

“Travis.” Annabeth’s grip was like a statue. “Connor and Grover found him in his room.”

Leo sighed in relief. Okay. It was none of his best friends. Then he frowned. Wait, _Travis?_ And his brother was the one to find him? Leo didn’t have any siblings, but he couldn’t imagine what that was like. He’d probably die if Piper or Jason died, but they weren’t _blood_. “Do you know how?”

Annabeth let him go. She stood up without using her hands.“I didn’t ask, because it didn’t matter. Does it matter to you?”

“No, I guess not,” Leo faltered. It wasn’t important information… so why d he ask in the first place? “I’m gonna find Reyna then, and see what she has.”

“Okay. Stay safe.”

Leo picked up his bowl, as the door closed. _Stay safe_. Now _that_ was a weird thing to say.

* * *

Reyna was in her room with Octavian. It was weird. She had arranged notepad papers along one wall with tape like a crazy conspiracy theorist. Octavian was laying on the bed, his knees up in the air.

“Hey, Leo,” Reyna said.

“Leo?” Octavian raised his arm and then draped it over his eyes. “Why are _you_ here?”

“I heard Reyna was asking about something?” Leo’s eyes fell along the wall. In the center, everyone’s name had been scribbled, with colorful lines connecting each other. His own name was left untouched.

“Hmm?” Reyna’s brow dipped. “Oh- right. I’m trying to figure out the relations between everyone. You and the kid are the last ones.”

“Any reason why?”

“It’s hard to explain,” She reached into her desk to pull out markers. She uncapped the green one. “Mind telling me who you knew from class?”

“Rachel,” Leo tried to think. His mind felt cloudy from the thoughts of all that was going on. He couldn’t focus on anything but the past few days. “Frank. He was kind of forgettable though.”

Octavian made a noise at that. “ _‘Forgettable.’_ ”

“Uh…”

“Ignore him,” Reyna popped out a blue marker. She wrote with her left hand, handwriting filled with big a’s and a cute straightness to it. “Friends? Before this?”

Leo eyed the blue line connecting Octavian and Frank. Were the blue lines meant for friendship? “Erm, Piper, and Jason really. Way to make me feel like a loser.”

“You don’t need us to do that,” Octavian sat up. He approached the two, watching Reyna draw lines across the paper. “You’re friends with Grace?”

“Nah. It’s not like he’s my best friend or anything,” Leo shrugged.

“How’d you and Jason meet?” Reyna said, distracted by her line. Her hand worked its way slowly, pressing more and more ink into the line. She was going to break the tip.

“Uh,” Reyna wasn’t as cool-headed as Leo thought. “Who knows? It’s been so long ago- uh, you know you just drew a line connecting you and me…”

“Reyna,” Octavian slapped her hand. He looked concerned, and took up a pen and scribbled out the line. “Draw a new one, and make it correct.”

“You shouldn’t tell her what to do.”

Octavian pointed his pen at Leo. “She doesn’t mind. We’ve got that relationship.” He pointed to the only black line going across the page, linking ‘Octavian’ and ‘Me’.

Leo stepped back. “... _Okay_. So what does all this junk mean anyway?”

“Red is a relationship, while the green is classmates,” Reyna clarified. “The lighter blue are siblings, while the brighter one is friendships.”

“And _why_ is this all important?” Leo traced the blue lines from Will to Travis with his eyes. They were friends before this. Friends before they both died. Travis’ lines were expected: the blue for Katie, and the lighter blue for Connor. Will had a green line going towards Austin. He also had a red line to Nico. Strange.

“I’m not sure yet. We all go to the same school, so there must be something there.” Reyna said.

“Will was the first to go-”

“Katie and Clarisse were first,” Reyna reminded him.

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes. “Then came Frank-”

“Which _you_ instigated,” Leo reminded him. Frank didn’t have to die. It was Octavian who wanted him to go so badly. There was a blue line from Octavian and Frank. But _why_? How could they _possibly_ be friends?

“ _Whatever_.” Octavian folded his arms over his chest. It wasn’t very intimidating because he was all skin, bones, and sharp edges. “It was Will, Frank, then Travis. There could be some pattern that we’re missing.

“What you did wasn’t a pattern.” Reyna glared. Octavian brushed her off and nodded at Leo.

“Is the kid your brother?”

“Kid?”

“The little boy,” Octavian held his hand out at his hip. “That one.”

“No,” Leo frowned. “Why?”

“He’s the only kid. It’s fucking _weird_.” Octavian shrugged and sat on the desk. Reyna refused to look at him. Leo’s heartbeat fastened. Octavian couldn’t possibly- going after a _kid?_ If he wasn’t the Titan, that this guy was _sick_.

“I’m gonna go,” Leo said. A lot was going on in this room, and Leo did not want to be in here any longer. “Any thoughts on the Titan?”

That must’ve been the wrong thing to say because Reyna was furious and Octavian kept avoiding her eyes. Maybe Leo coming here was a mistake.

Besides. Maybe it was time for Leo to start his own investigation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact... thought i had published this like a week ago... turns out that was a lie... speaking of lies u shouldn't trust me anymore lol. always second guess everything XDD
> 
> (more importantly: thank you akira for being the best and reading through my crap. <3\. ur reactions are truly amazing)
> 
> (also bumping up the rating because of. um. violence? just in case)

IV

Leo needed more evidence. He was firm on his theory that there was another group before him. But where would he find it? And then, there was the matter of Travis.

Travis was dead. Leo didn’t know how he died, nor did he think it to be important. The group had already wrongfully accused Frank because of Will’s death. Maybe the how didn’t matter… But then what _did?_ What made Will and Travis the better contenders for _death?_

Leo shivered. Contenders... like they were in a game show. Maybe to the Titan, it _was_ a game.

In the dining room, Hazel had her head down. Leo approached quietly. It was nearing dinnertime. Leo had spent time preparing for the vote, only to never receive the musical notes from above. It seemed the vote happened to the whims of their captors.

“Hazel,” he touched her back, “are you okay?”

Hazel sat up. Her eyes were red, and she wiped snot away with the back of her hand. She must’ve stayed up all night as well because her eye bags were darker than her brothers. “Yeah.”

“It’s okay to not be,” Leo sat down next to her. “Frank _was_ your friend.”

Hazel sniffled, “I can’t believe people would vote for him! He was one of the kindest people I ever met.”

Leo swallowed. He was one of the people who voted for Frank. His stomach churned, not sure how to provide comfort for Hazel now. How fake was he- telling Hazel everything was okay when he’s one of the reasons for her distress?

Hazel folded her arms on the table and put her head on top of them. “I wished everyone knew Frank before they judged him. There’s no way he could be the Titan. If I knew he was going to die yesterday, I would’ve just-” She cut herself off.

“Would’ve what?”

Hazel turned her face inward so Leo couldn’t see it. “It’s nothing.”

Leo continues rubbing her back, wondering about what she was talking about. When his arm began to hurt, and Hazel’s breathing grew shallower, Leo softly got up from the table and headed toward the living room. Bianca was still sitting in her armchair, this time with her eyes closed and her feet folded up to her chest.

The moment Leo walked past her, Bianca’s eyes popped open.

“Uh, hey?” Leo waved, not sure what to do.

She gave him a soft smile. “Hi.”

Awkward. Leo didn’t know anything about her. He already started the conversation though. “Um. How are you?”

“Okay. How are you?”

“Good. Well, not good, but, uh, you know, _good_.”

“Good,” Bianca echoed, watching him with wide owlish eyes.

“Uhh,” Leo tried a different approach, “Are you hungry?”

“No.”

“Um… lovely weather we’re having?” Leo gestured toward the window, where the purple and blue colors of a lowering sun flowed through the glass, and wispy clouds crossed the skies. There were a lot of stars here, blinking dimly from a million miles away.

“I like the sun,” Bianca stated.

“Me too?” Leo squirmed. “Well, I’m going to head back to my room for now. Sorry to interrupt your sleep.”

“I wasn’t sleeping. I can’t.”

Leo stepped back. “Yeah, I feel that. Maybe I should leave you alone so you could try to fall asleep?”

Bianca stared. Then, slowly, _painstakingly slowly_ , her eyelids began to lower. When they closed, Leo tiptoed out. He let go of the breath he didn’t realize he was holding in.

“What’s up with you?” Leo lifted his head, to find Percy staring at him with a bagel in his mouth.

Leo rolled his shoulders back and stood straight. “Nothing, I’m good.”

“Everything work out with Annabeth, okay?” Percy asked. “After she talked to you, she had this weird face scrunching look, and then she kicked me and Groves out.”

“Yeah, fine,” Leo would have to follow up on that. That means Annabeth was seriously considering his theory, didn’t it? It would be nice to have someone outside of Jason and Piper to be on his side. “Did she say anything to you?”

“Besides ‘ _get out of my room, and for the love of God, no more Cartoon Network_ ’?” Percy licked the cream cheese off his finger. “Nah.”

“Oh. Well, what-”

Leo was cut off by a loud musical chime. Percy frowned, chewing thoughtfully. Leo noticed his hands clench tighter. Maybe Percy wasn’t as nonchalant about the voting system as Leo thought.

“ **Hello, children. Please head to the voting room on the first floor. You have exactly five minutes to get there or face the penalty.** ” It was the man again. Leo and Percy headed towards the voting room together.

“Do you have any clue as to who you’re voting for?” Percy asked.

“Zero,” Leo said, earnestly. He hadn’t given much thought to it. Time slipped away faster than Leo thought. Time was running out.

“You should know beforehand,” Percy clapped his hands together to get rid of crumbs. His expression was serious, though. “So you don’t end up doing crazy voting and waste it.”

“Uh,” Leo was at a lost for words. Was Percy always like this? “Okay…”

“Just a thought,” Percy smiled at him as he opened the door. Any graveness on his face or in his voice was gone, washed away with an easy-going smile. Whoa. “You go in, first.”

Leo took his seat and waited for everyone to come in. Jason and Piper came in together, looking as nervous as Leo felt. Who were they voting for? Harley sat down next to Leo, with a pout.

“What’s wrong?”

“My head hurts,” Harley explained with a whine.

“I think Hazel has something for that,” Leo remembered his trip with Frank to deliver water bottles. _Well, I hope we all can make it,_ Frank has said. Leo rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans. Liar, liar, why was Leo such a _liar?_

The last couple of people to come in was Nico and Bianca. Leo frowned. The two didn’t acknowledge each other and sat in their seats silently. They were alike, in that sense.

“ **You have 5 minutes until you need to vote.** ”

“Bianca is the Titan,” Reyna declared. She had a paper and raised it up for all to see. It was her map of relationships. Bianca and Harley’s names were left free of any markings. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“That’s ‘cause your boyfriend is it,” Austin nodded towards Octavian. “Him. The angry scowly one.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Reyna corrected. “And his face is just like that.”

“How do we know it’s not the kid then,” Annabeth asked, leaning forward. When Leo’s eyes fell on her, she hesitated. “I’m not saying it’s him, it’s just a question.”

Leo cleared his throat. “His name is _Harley_ , by the way. We all go to the same school, don’t we? It would make _sense_ for none of to have met him. Unless you’re all _creeps_ , who hang around elementary schoolers.”

“Fair enough,” Annabeth agreed. “We all _do_ know each other. So why doesn’t Bianca know anyone?”

“I thought Emo Guy knew her,” Thalia raised an eyebrow. She shrugged, arms folded over her chest. “They look dead alike.”

“Yeah, I thought they were siblings,” Rachel nodded along. Her fingers came up to her mouth, and she started biting her thumbnail. “Didn’t he have a sister?”

“That would be _me_ ,” Hazel said, her voice weak from crying but her expression hard. “I’m his only sister.”

Everyone turned to Nico, to Hazel, and then to Bianca. Nico and Bianca looked like siblings. They had the same big dark eyes and darker complexion. Nico’s hair was greasier, but they had the same straightness and color. Similar nose and thin lips. Hazel, on the other hand, looked nothing like the other two. Hazel could’ve been their neighbor or distant relative, but Bianca and Nico were _blood_.

“Hazel’s my only sister,” Nico said. Though he peered at Bianca with his forehead creased. “It’s only ever been Hazel.”

“Yeah,” Hazel bit her lip, looking back and forth between Nico and Bianca.

“I knew a kid who looks like Annabeth, but they’re not related,” Percy offered. “And Jason and Thalia are siblings, but they don’t look alike.”

“Travis,” Connor suddenly spoke. His head was on the table, and his body was practically lifeless. His eyes were closed. “Everyone said we looked alike. Before you killed him.”

An uncomfortable arose from that comment. It was hard following up from that accusation. Travis’ death was on their hands. They didn’t kill the Titan, but the Titan murdered one of them.

Octavian, apparently, had no sympathy for Connor. “Don’t blame us for your twin’s death. You voted for Frank too, so if _we_ killed him, then so did _you_.”

Connor opened his eyes, angrily sitting up and slamming his hands on the table. “Fuck you! You made everyone vote for him. How _dare_ you-”

“Sit down. You’re just wasting time.” Octavian turned away from Connor. “The point is, Bianca doesn’t know anyone which is suspicious as it is. Three minutes left.”

Rachel raised her hand as if they were in class. “How do we know Hazel and Nico are siblings? They don’t look alike.”

“That’s not any of your business.” Nico barked. Even Hazel looked irritated. It must’ve been a sore spot for both of them. Leo had a creeping feeling on what it was.

“Hypothetically, they could say they’re siblings to cover for each other,” Annabeth theorized out loud. “But I trust them and what they say, so who knows.”

“We’re not making it up!” Hazel yelled. “Stop it.”

“ **You have two minutes.** ” Leo hadn’t even heard the music turn on, because he was too caught up in the debate. Was it really a debate though? It felt like an _attack_.

“I’m voting for Bianca,” Octavian announced.

“You don’t have to say it every time,” Leo said. However, he couldn’t ignore the spike of adrenaline that flushed through his body when Octavian said his vote. Leo didn’t know who to go for. But he also didn’t want to end up as the swing vote. “Wait, a minute, can I see the chart?”

Reyna passed the paper across Harley, and Leo scanned it over. Meanwhile, Piper addressed the group, “Wait, isn’t it weird that Bianca’s not defending herself? Let her defend herself.”

Leo looked up at Bianca. The girl had her hands in her lap and her eyes closed. Rachel tapped her, but Bianca didn’t move. “It’s fine,” she said. “Vote for who you want.”

“That’s her offering herself,” Octavian laughed, maniacally. “She’s a free vote! Everyone should vote for her.”

“Shut up, you psycho,” Thalia said.

Reyna gave Octavian a warning look. “Don’t vote for her because Octavian said so, vote because you believe in the facts.”

“Hold up!” Everyone’s heads swung to Leo. He pointed at the chart, to a long red line connecting to names. “Isn’t it weird that Nico and Will were dating?”

An awkward pause. “ **One minute.** ”

“Leo, are you homophobic?” Octavian pressed. “Out of all the people....”

“What? _No_ ,” Leo’s cheeks burned. Now was _not_ the time for _that_ conversation.“I’m definitely not- _Jeez_. I mean, isn’t it weird that Will and Nico were dating and Will just died? But look at Nico.”

Nico glared at him, but Leo held his own. “What about it?”

“No, I see what you mean,” Annabeth tapped her fingers across her chin. “If Percy had died I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“Are you okay?” Piper asked. “Nico, are you okay?”

Nico pressed his lips together and didn’t say anything. Hazel reached over Austin to touch his shoulder.

“It was a secret,” Austin said. “Their relationship.”

“It was on Reyna’s chart, though?” Leo flapped the paper around.

“She’s crazy smart.”

“Too smart,” Rachel observed.

“ **You have twenty seconds. Make your vote.** ”

Octavian and Reyna pointed at Bianca. Bianca pointed at Octavian. She didn’t look worried.

“Leo?” Harley patted his arm. “Who are you going for?”

Leo pointed to Nico. “You don’t have to follow me, you know.”

Harley nodded slowly and raised his arm. His small finger curled at Nico.

“Annabeth, are you sure?” Grover called out from across the circle. His shaking hand pointed toward Octavian.

Annabeth’s pointed at Bianca. “Not really.”

“ **Ten.** ”

She’s not disturbed, Leo noted. Bianca remained calm in her seat, keeping her gaze at the center of the circle. Frank had been sobbing before, but this was new.

“ **Five.** ”

Bianca had already accepted death. She smiled at herself, head hung low. Leo would’ve called out, but Connor beat him to it.

“Bianca!”

“ **Four.** ”

She lifted her head, somber look in her eyes. Her smile looked distant. She was so far away. Her eyes were cloudy with memories no one knew.

“Why’d you kill him?”

“ **Three.** ”

Bianca’s smile slipped off. Her eyes began to widen, “What?”.

“ **Two.** ”

“WHY DID YOU KILL TRAVIS?” Connor’s finger pointed to the middle of her face, between widening eyes. A single tear broke from her thick eyelashes. “WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU HUH?”

“ **One. All votes processed.** ”

“ _Who?-_ ” Bianca was cut off by the loud sound of gears whirring. Leo winced, covering his ears with his hands. Next to him, Harley began to yell as he slammed his own hands to his ears.

Bianca began to inch forward. She was saying something, but her words were overpowered by the shifting of gears. Her stomach pressed into the table.

What was she doing? Leo moved to block Harley’s view to the best of his ability while fulfilling a disgusting voyeuristic need from the darkest part of his heart. Bianca opened her mouth only to cough up blood.

The chair was moving, Leo realized. It was pushing her against the table. The wood from the armrest splintered and cracked, as it relentless pushed and pushed into the counter. Soon Bianca’s back was against the back of the chair, and her only option was to go forward.

The table wasn’t sharp. Bianca’s chair pushed forward, and the girl began to gargle blood up. Her shirt had long been torn in half, giving everyone view of the table digging into her stomach.

Then the noise stopped. Bianca whimpered as everyone moved their hands from their ears.

“Is she dead?”

Something hit the ground with a wet plop. Rachel began to scream and on the other side of Bianca, Percy covered his face with his hands.

“ **Bianca Di Angelo had 9 votes, Octavian had 4 votes, and Nico had 2 votes.** ”

Bianca’s legs and waist had fallen to the floor, bits of her spine poking out of a bloody stump. The rest of her body sat on the table, head back and fingernails bloody from clawing at the table.

“ **Day 3 is complete.** ”

She was still crying.

* * *

“There was a blade,” Percy later explained to the group. “It came from the table and sliced her in half. Have you ever _seen_ the inside of your intestines?”

He then ran from the living room to throw up.

“I don’t want to be here anymore,” Grover cried out. His hands shook in his lap, as he sat with his head on Annabeth’s shoulder. “Why can’t the Titan just admit who they are?”

“Maybe something is stopping them,” Octavian suggested. He looked paler than normal, sitting in between Leo and Jason. Leo’s not sure how he managed to weasel his way between them. “Or they just don’t want to die.”

Connor had been sitting with his head on the coffee table up until now, where he got up and walked away. Leo didn’t blame him. Connor _had_ been the one to accuse Bianca a few seconds before… it happened. Travis had done the same thing, and then at night, he was gone.

“Maybe _you_ don’t want to die,” Thalia countered. They all got what she was implying. Octavian’s been suspect number one from the start. But Leo shook his head. That was too easy, too obvious.

“And who exactly did you vote for this time?” Octavian sneered.

“ _You_ , actually.”

“It’s not him,” Rachel looked sick. She had also been the one to see Bianca’s flesh tear in two but had a better stomach than Percy.

“How do you know _that?_ ” Austin asked. He held a Coke in his hands, and his fingers tapped along the sides.

“Because,” Rachel said. “I’m the Oracle.”

* * *

 

Hazel had been the first one to say anything towards Rachel’s declaration. They had all been stunned silent until Piper’s call for dinner. Even then, they silently grabbed plates and utensils and settled around the table.

There were only 12 seats, but Connor had gone to his room, and Harley ate in the living room while watching cartoons, so Jason had chosen to stand.

“What’s the Oracle?” Hazel had asked in the middle of eating. Her head was in her hand, and she didn’t look very hungry. No one could blame her. Spaghetti and meatballs didn’t feel very appetizing when you’ve seen someone’s arteries splayed across the floor.

“They can see a person’s role every night,” Reyna clarified. She pointed her fork at Rachel. “And how does this process work?”

“Um,” Rachel removed the glass from her lips. She only ever drank orange juice for some reason. “I turn on the TV and type their room number as a channel after lights out. If they’re in the room than they’re obviously not the Titan.” Her eyes flicked to her plate.

“Interesting,” Reyna said. She sat at the head of the table. “And who have you seen?”

“Thalia-” All eyes flew to the girl, who shrugged, “-and Octavian,” Rachel bit her fingernails. “They’re safe.”

Octavian pressed his lips together. “Hmph.” Leo inwardly smiled. He wasn’t crazy. He could start theorizing more now. He knew who it wasn’t and he had ideas of who it couldn’t be Leo might _actually_ be able to put the puzzle together. He leaned back in his chair.

“We should make a group decision then,” Annabeth said from the other head of the table. “Figure out who Rachel should look into next- _wow_ , this is really good, Piper, you should cook more often.”

“Thanks,” Piper said from Leo’s side. Her own plate was filled with a salad with Blue Cheese dressing. “Eating is important, but no one wanted to cook, so I thought, _might as well_.”

“My mom says a good meal means a good heart,” Percy beamed, chomping on a meatball.

“Your mom also makes enough food to feed the neighborhood whenever I come over,” Grover laughed.

“Yeah,” Percy’s smile began to fade. “I wish I could see her right now.” There were a few echoes of agreement that followed.

Nico and Hazel looked at each other. At least they had each other. Leo didn’t have any siblings. He and his mom lived alone together. She must be worried sick by now, furious and upset. When he was eight, he had stayed out too late once, and she freaked. Or maybe he was younger than that? Whatever. He knew that it made her flip out, and he never wanted to see that look on her face again. God. Leo loved his mom the most in the entire world. Will he get to see her again?

“Maybe we should talk about Rachel’s next move again,” Jason advised. Right. He had a bad relationship with his father, and Thalia wasn’t close with him either. Leo made a mental note to talk to Jason about it later.

“Yeah,” Reyna said. “Who should Rachel look into tonight?”

Austin hummed. “How about Connor?”

“He wouldn’t kill his brother,” Thalia retorted. She then frowned. “Would he?”

“He’s pretty fragile right now,” Leo said. “Kinda broken and messed up. I don’t think he’s got what it takes.”

“You have a lot of thoughts, don’t you?” Nico muttered.

“Dude. What is your _problem_?” Leo said, exasperated. He set down his fork. “You’ve had it out for me since day _one_!”

Nico pulled his little annoying Nico-gimmick and didn’t respond. He rolled around the meatball on his plate, glowering at his food. Leo sighed and looked to Piper who shrugged.

“ _Okay_ ,” Octavian snickered. “How about the kid?”

“I told you. _It’s not Harley,_ ” Leo pushed back his chair. “Excuse me. I think I’m done. Thanks for the food, Pipes.”

“Um, no problem.” Leo pushed his chair back in and dropped his plates in the sink. He limped back up the stairs, annoyed by the conversation and the dull pain in his foot. When he got to his room, he laid on the couch.

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuk. _Fuck_. Leo should be defending Harley, not making him suspect number one! And what was with Nico? _Bullshit_.

Leo groaned, stretching out. He had thought he was helpful to everyone. He was probably going to be the one that Rachel looked into tonight after the way he stormed out like that. Whatever. Leo knew what he was. Such a waste.

He picked up the remote. How did Rachel say she saw? Something to do with the room numbers? He tapped in 3004, expecting to see his own room. Instead, he got fuzzy white noise. Leo sighed and turned the television off.

He closed his eyes, still annoyed and body tight with anger.

* * *

He must’ve dozed off. Leo turned on the TV to check the time on the news channel. It was only 10:18.

He groggily stood up, feeling gross and sweaty. When he peeked out in the hallway, no one was there. There was an argument ensuing in Octavian’s room, and a loud movie playing in room 3014, which was Percy’s. Harley’s light was off, probably asleep. 3012 was off as well.

Leo stopped in front of that room. Travis’ room. He tried opening the door. It gave no resistance, allowing Leo to creep into the dark room. When he turned on the lights, Leo held his breath.

Only to find nothing. The room was as if no one had been there. No blood. No bodies. No entrails. Nothing. Leo shut the light and closed the door.

Quick clean up, he noted. Will’s room must be clear too. Set for the next game.

Leo went to the bathrooms, happy to find it completely empty. He chose the shower the farthest away from the door, incidentally being the one underneath the camera. Good. He couldn’t be seen by captors nor the others. He closed the curtain and turned on the water.

Scrubbing at his chest, Leo frowned at the tiling. The back of his neck began to tingle. Something about the pattern was off. The tiles were supposed to be white, white, orange, white, white, purple, white, white, yellow. Yet, in the corner, where wall met wall, a few inches from Leo’s knee, was white, white, white, orange, white, purple. A tiny mistake, but it gave Leo the heebie-jeebies.

Leo turned the water off, pulled own some boxers and squatted. Poked at the wayward white and orange tile only for several tiles to fall inward all at once. Crap. Did he just break the wall? Leo pushed his hand into the gap, hand grabbing something hard. He pulled it out and dropped it on the ground.

A brick, with the mismatched tile pattern glued to the side. With the bigger opening, Leo could see something else in the hole. He glanced above, double checking if the camera could see what he was seeing. Luckily it can’t, so Leo reached inside. His fingers slid across plastic.

He pulled out a Ziploc baggie. Weird. It held pages of writing, a smaller white box, a screwdriver, and a pink hair tie. Leo kept the bag, wrapping his towel around it, and pushed the brick back in. White, white, white, orange, white, purple.

After throwing on the rest of his clothes, Leo ran back to his room. Only to find Jason sitting on his bed. Leo sighed, slightly annoyed. Leo might’ve found something _absolutely indispensable_ , and Jason was here, ready to braid hair and make friendship bracelets. Okay, maybe not. Leo probably shouldn’t get annoyed at his best friend either.

For some reason, Leo kept his findings a secret. He neatly left his towel on the floor by his desk, hoping Jason wouldn’t ask any questions.

“What’d you get last night?”

“Hmm?” Leo wasn’t paying attention, more focused on the position of the towel. Everything looked fine, so he left it alone. “What do you mean?”

“Did you get a CD? To watch something?”

“You mean a _DVD_? God, kids these days, always on their phones.” Leo snorted. He sat on the bed next to Jason.

“I don’t have a phone,” Jason shrugged. “Did you check the desk? It was in one of the drawers. Everyone got it, I think.”

“No, lemme check.” Leo huffed as he got up again to cross the room. He went through the drawers- and sure enough, a CD case with his name scribbled on it sat. “Okay, but this is the wrong case. That’s kind of annoying. Who left it here?”

Jason pointed to the corner of the room by the door. How did Leo not notice that? A camera stared back at Leo. Their captors were very thorough. Would it be safe to open up the Ziploc bag here?

“Let’s put this bad boy in then, and see what’s on it.” Leo cracked open the case and headed toward the TV. He pushed the disc in and jumped on the couch. Patting the spot next to him, Leo looked behind him to Jason. “Come watch it with me.”

Jason hesitated. “I’m going to step out actually. I don’t know what your video is going to show, and I don’t know if I’ll like it.”

Um, okay. “Um. Okay.” Leo waited for Jason to step out. What exactly was he watching? Leo pressed play. The numbers in the corner of the screen read as 20100202 before it blinked away and was replaced with an image.

It was an old recording. Despite it being years ago, Leo looked relatively the same. His hair was shorter, and his face had more body fat, but it was definitely him that walked on screen. He was carrying a big box of wood.

Leo supposed he remembered the day. It was a long time ago, so his memory was a bit cloudy. He knew what came next though: the younger Leo on screen slid across the floor because of something slippery, and the box tipped over. All the wood that fell out hit the ground and soaked up the liquid, rendering the pieces useless and stinky.

Leo was pissed at the time. Even watching this, he was starting to get irritated. He couldn’t even remember what the project he was working on _was_ but he was annoyed _now_. The screen went blank.

Then a new image came up. Same place. Same shelves against a wall, same cement floor. This time the floor was clear. Then someone came into view. Katie? Her hair was piled up into a ponytail, and she was talking to someone Leo didn’t know, who was wearing a red bandana. The two girls were both carrying buckets of water and fertilizer.

“It’d be a nice surprise,” Katie said before she stepped on her own shoelaces, and tripped. Her bucket splashed all over the floor, and she sat in the mess. The other girl set down her own bucket and offered Katie a hand.

“Thanks,” Katie bounced up. The two stumbled, and Katie’s foot hit the other bucket, spilling its contents over the floor, adding more to the slippery mess.

“Are you okay?” The girl asked Katie. Katie nodded and gestured to the mess.

“We should come back to clean it though. Let me shower and get a change of clothes. Can you tell-” the video cut off. An arrow appeared asking REPLAY?

Leo was fucking _mad_. How do you spill something and not do anything about it? How! Do! You! Do! This! No wet floor sign, no sign of a mop, no caution! He lost a lot of time running back and forth to get wood. And the wood was expensive! Sure it grew on trees, but that didn’t mean it was cheap!

He slammed on the door and let Jason back in. “-Can you fucking believe the nerve of her? I mean, Katie just _left_ that crap on the floor and I-”

“Whoa,” Jason grabbed his shoulders. “Calm down. It was Katie who’s making you mad?”

“Yes!” Leo slapped at Jason’s hands, but they refused to budge. He kicked the door closed. “Ugh!”

“I got Reyna,” Jason said. “And she got Octavian. Who got Frank.”

“So? Why should I care?” Leo demanded.

Jason glanced at their reflection in the screen. REPLAY? “Doesn’t it sound familiar? Octavian got Frank. Octavian is angry and voted out Frank.”

“ _What?_ ” Leo’s body released its tension when he thought about it. “Oh. _Oh!_ ” He darted toward his notepad.

_? - > Frank -> Octavian -> Reyna -> Jason -> ?_  
_? - > Katie -> Leo -> ?_

“Yeah. Something like that,” Jason spoke over Leo’s shoulder. “So whoever got Will must’ve done it, right? Or whoever starts the line of revenge.”

“Right.” Leo nodded. His eyes widened and he spun around. He hit Jason’s chest, excitedly. “Right! Right! Right! _Right!_ ”

“Whoa, whoa,” Jason grabbed Leo’s hands with one of his bigger ones. He was smiling as well, matching Leo’s excitement. “We still have to think about the bigger picture here though.”

“What bigger picture? Fuck this place!”

“Well,” Jason spun Leo around until Leo hit the wall. He leaned in close. For a second, Leo thought Jason was going to either kiss him or beat him to a bloody pulp. Instead, Jason whispered into his ear. “Who are the people in charge of this?”

“Um,” Leo’s breathing was a lot less steady than he wished it to be. “Why are you so close, man?”

“Camera,” Jason said. “I’ve been trying to figure out where they can see and can’t see. I don’t know if they have audio.”

Leo relaxed at that. Of course. Jason had been worrying about their situation as much as Leo had. He was smart in a practical way. Leo might have the math and logical skills to do the background work, but Jason was capable and efficient.

He was the charismatic leader, and Leo was the team behind him.

“There’s cameras everywhere, including the bathrooms,” Leo said. “There’s not one in the voting room though. I also haven’t found the one in the living room.”

“There has to be one in the voting room because they know how we vote,” Jason mumbled. “I haven’t found any in the living room either. Maybe it’s a safe spot?”

“Doubt it. Have you been to the basement?”

“Yeah. Once with Piper. There aren't any lights down there so we couldn’t get too far.”

“Damn,” Leo leaned his head back, hitting it against the wall. Jason’s breath tickled his neck. “What’s Piper’s thoughts on all this.”

“Not sure. She’s being very quiet about it,” Jason paused. “It’s weird.”

“She’s a private person,” Leo rolled over Jason’s hesitance. He trusted Piper. “How about Thalia?”

“She won’t talk to me,” Jason pressed more into Leo, his head resting on the wall. “Who knows what she’s thinking.”

“God.”

“Yeah.”

Leo looked down. The nape of Jason’s neck was visible, curving out of a blue T-shirt with the leather necklace resting on his skin. The golden hairs at his neck bent away from the rest of Jason’s hair, leaning into the light. Jason’s ear was pink next to Leo’s cheek. Leo swallowed and turned away, choosing to look ahead at the window on the opposite side of the room. That might’ve been worse- considering the darkness outside and the light inside, Leo can see their intimate position perfectly. “Think we’re going to make it out alive?”

“Obviously. We’ll figure it out. Just need more time.”

“More time,” Leo repeated. He then pushed Jason away. “Shit, what time is it?”

“What?” Jason questioned, as Leo hopped over to where he threw the remote on the table. Leo flicked channels back to the news. 11:15.

“What time was curfew?”

“Um,” Jason’s eyebrows raised as he looked at the time. “Fifteen minutes ago?”

“Aw _crap_ ,” Leo went back and forth between Jason and the time. “Crap, crap, crap- do you think you can make it back to your room quickly?”

“I’m upstairs, Leo,” Jason winced. “4007.”

“Shit.” Leo sat on the couch, dumbfounded. Jason was supposed to be in his room. And he wasn’t because of Leo. What did he _do?_

The two sat in silence on opposite ends of the couch, watching the news. Leo’s ears stayed perked, waiting for a music note or footsteps at his door. Neither came.

By midnight, both Leo and Jason had grown tired, and there didn’t seem to be anyone coming to murder Jason.

“Maybe it doesn’t have to be our specific room.” Jason had migrated to laying on the floor. His feet rested on the couch underneath Leo’s legs where the teen had been lying. “Maybe it’s as long as you’re _in_ a bedroom, then you’re good.”

“Maybe.” Leo sighed. “All these rules and loopholes are freaking me out. Wasn’t there a rule against breaking the building?”

“Yeah? What about it?”

Leo realized his mistake. Keeping secrets from his best friend was harder than he thought. He peeked over the armrest to see his towel by the desk. “Nothing. Thought I saw some scuffs on the wall.”

Jason made a noise. “Get off my legs. Let’s just go to bed, and if I’m dead tomorrow, then you know why.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I know. That’s why you’re the funny one.”

“Damn straight.” Leo stood up. “You can take the bed since I’m the reason you’re not in your own.”

“No, I’ll take the couch.” Jason sat where Leo was sitting. “It’s fine. This _is_ your room-”

“Which means it’s _my_ rules.” Leo drummed his hands on Jason’s shoulders. “Now get moving, bro. Want to get some sleep in before we take out this Titan tomorrow.”

“Fine,” Jason stood. He rolled his eyes, but there was still a smile on his face. “Only ‘cause it’s you.”

A few minutes later, Leo turned off the lights, and Jason was peacefully snoring away in bed. Leo clicked on the desk lamp, observing Jason for any movements. Jason continued slumbering, undisturbed.

Leo fished out the contents of the Ziploc bag. The papers came out in a neat stack. Leo tucked away the screwdriver and hair tie into the desk drawers and stared at the white box. It was about the size of the smartphone. Leo opened it.

A candy bar? Gross. How long had it been sitting there? Leo pushed that away to the side and focused on the papers. The handwriting wasn’t hard to read, but there were thick pen lines scratching out certain words.

Leo glanced toward the camera and huddled closer to his desk. Maybe it was bait. Something his captors or even the Titan placed to toy with him. Like a fun little game. To make Leo go crazy.

Jason’s slow breathing calmed Leo down. He sighed. If it wasn’t…. If these documents were evidence of another game, Leo could use them to set his friends free. He and Jason and Piper and Harley and Annabeth and _hell-_ Octavian could be free.

 _Day 1_ , read the first page.

There were only ten pages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ch 5 to be posted in like 2 days on monday, i'm so sorry i really did think i posted this already whoops


	5. Chapter 5

V

Leo was sitting around a campfire with everyone. Travis, Will, Katie, and Clarisse were alive. Everyone was singing _The Wheels on The Bus_ , swaying and laughing. Leo remained quiet staring at the darkening sky. It was pitch black, not a single star in sight.

“Hey guys,” he tried to call out. His voice never came. “Guys?”

“ _-Go round and round, round and round, round and round, the wheels on the bus go round and round-_ ”

“Guys!” His feet began to sink into the ground like it was quicksand. Lightning flashed across the sky.

No one minded him any attention and went on to the next song. “Pass the marshmallows!” Percy yelled. A bag flew over the fire. “Thanks!”

“GUYS! COME ON!” Leo hollered. The dirt was up to his knees, the log he was sitting on was enveloped entirely in the earth. He was going to die.

“Lighten up, man,” Travis elbowed him. The blue-eyed teen’s thighs sunk into the dirt, “Sing with us.”

Harley had sunken up to his armpits. Leo reached for his arms, struggling to pull him out. “COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!” Leo quivered. It was like cement- the kid barely moved despite Leo’s efforts. His own hips began to slip under. Harley began to cry.

“ _Misssss Marrryyyy Mack Mack Mack_ ,” sang the circle. “ _All dressed in black, black, black._ ”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Leo clawed at the ground around him, reaching for something, anything. The soil slipped through his hand like sugar, nothing solid in reach. “Fuck, fuck, _FUCK!_ ”

Someone on the other side of the campfire started screaming. It created a domino effect- soon everyone was screaming for their lives, panicking and shrieking. Lightning lit up the black sky, the crackle of electricity growing closer and louder.

“I don’t want to die!” Rachel cried. Leo was up to his shoulders with the quicksand earth. Harley was gone.

 _I don’t want to die._ Leo’s mind relayed the sentence over and over again. _I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die._

He had sunken to his chin. He couldn’t feel the rest of his body. Leo screamed. He didn’t want to die.

Someone was still singing. Under all the yells and crying, Leo could faintly hear a tune being carried. He closed his eyes. He didn’t want to die.

“ _Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row._ ”

His nose was submerged. Leo couldn’t breathe. He didn’t want to die.

“ _Leo, Leo, not a hero, how does dying feel? With broken hearts, and strung out parts, and nothing left to heal._ ”

He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to die-

“ **LEO**.”

Leo jumped up, awake at his desk. He patted his body. It was all there. He was alive. Leo sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead. It felt so _real_. Leo laughed to himself, breathing out. He was _okay_.

Leo was alone in his room. He made it another day. The papers from the bathroom were lying on the desk, still on the page where Leo had left it. He had only gotten as far as half of the first page when a powerful wave of sleep washed over him. Leo had fallen asleep on the desk, arms cushioned underneath him. He tucked the papers away into a desk drawer just in case.

After changing, Leo bustled out the room and headed downstairs. Grover was eating oatmeal in the dining room, while Austin was making cereal. Rachel peeled an orange while sitting on the kitchen island.

“‘Morning y’ all,” Leo waved to them all. He opened the fridge and grabbed the full carton of milk. They had ran out yesterday.

“Good morning,” Grover responded.

Leo traded the milk for the box of cereal from Austin. “How’s your song going?”

“Not perfect,” Austin tsked. “It’s missing something.”

“Think I can help?” Leo looked through the drawers for spoons. Rachel pointed to the drawer with an orange slice. He found there to be a lot more sharp knives than necessary.

“I doubt it,” Austin pulled away and went into the dining room. Leo shrugged and followed after him. Rachel murmured to herself in his absence.

“Hey, Grover,” Leo sat down across from him. “We haven’t talked, have we?”

“Not that I can remember,” Grover looked down at his bowl. “It’s weird to.”

“How’s talking weird?”

“It’s weird to be so,” Grover cleared his throat, “ _casual_ when people are dropping like flies.”

Leo paused. “Well,” he crunched on some Cheerios. “Isn’t it better to interact? So we can find the Titan quicker?”

“There’s still the Demigod and God left,” Grover’s oatmeal had blueberries stirred into it. It smelled delicious. “I’m tired of this game. I just want to go home, man.”

“You said it,” Leo snorted.

A few minutes later, Piper slid into the seat next to Leo. She looked pale, as she rested her head on his shoulder. She didn’t have any food with her.

“Aw, what’s wrong, Pipes?” Leo asked, concerned as he rubbed her arm. “Get some breakfast.”

“Not hungry,” Piper mumbled. “I ate a meatball last night and threw up.”

“Gross.” Leo poked her shoulder. “Aren’t you a vegetarian?”

“Yeah. But I couldn’t remember why.”

“Why?”

“Why.” Piper sighed. “We should talk later.”

“What’s wrong with now?”

“In private.” Their eyes trailed across the table at Grover who was staring back, mouth open as he was about to eat. Grover closed his mouth, embarrassed, and dropped his eyes away from them.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t say sorry, man, you’re good,” Piper sat up as Leo shrugged. He began shoveling the soggy cereal into his mouth, cringing at the less-than-solid breakfast falling onto his tongue. Super gross.

“Are you two a thing?” Grover asked, nonchalantly. He didn’t look to really care about the answer but was making conversation, like Leo had earlier suggested. At the other end of the table, Austin’s spoon clattered in his bowl, and he went back to the kitchen.

“No,” Piper responded. Leo opened his mouth to add on, and milk splashed back into his bowl. “ _That’s_ why.”

“That’s not why,” Leo wiped his mouth. “Just not into each other like that. Like you and Annabeth.”

Grover nodded, and Piper sighed. Leo pushed the last spoonful into his mouth and then jumped to his feet. “Ohshif!” He slapped Piper’s shoulder with the back of his hand, trying to make her follow him into the kitchen.

“What?” Piper warily eyed Rachel who was still sitting on the island. Rachel paid them no mind, peeling another orange. She must’ve had twenty of them based on the number of peels sprinkled onto the floor.

“Where’s Jason?” Leo dropped his bowl into the sink, wincing at the clatter. He pulled her into the hallway. “I forgot! He was with me last night, but he wasn’t with me in the morning.”

“He could be sleeping,” Piper said.

“No, when I meant he was with me last night,” Leo drew her in close and whispered into her ear. “I meant _he was in my room_ last night.”

Piper stepped back. “Why are we whispering? Also, why wasn’t he in his own room?”

“Um,” Leo headed towards the stairwell. “It’s a long story. To sum up, we talked a lot, and he missed the curfew. Shit-” He tripped over a stair, but regained his footing. “Come on.”

Leo was worried. It was his fault, after all. If Jason was punished for being in the wrong room, then it was completely Leo’s fault. He couldn’t let Jason die. If Jason died…

4007\. Leo knocked on the door. _Pleasepleasepleaseplease-_

“Come in.” Leo burst through the door, to where Jason was pulling on a sweatshirt. “Hey, Leo. Hey, Piper.”

Leo breathed in relief, as he leaned on the door. “You left without saying anything.”

“Actually I did,” Jason tugged on his sweatshirt. It was Adidas, and his bead necklace sat on top of the fabric. “You were too knocked out to wake up, so I went back up to my room when it was morning.”

Piper hugged Jason. “Leo had me worried for a sec.” Jason squeezed her, picking her up and swinging her around.

“He does that,” Jason laughed and put her down. “Who else is up?”

“Grover, Rachel, and Austin,” Leo recalled, counting on his fingers. His blood was still rushing and his hands shook. “Do you want to check around?”

“Why not?” Piper stepped out the room. She turned left, but Jason called out to her, stopping Piper in her tracks.

“Those rooms are empty,” Jason’s voice echoed through the hall. “The farthest is Will’s, and the one next to me is Frank’s...” Both dead was the unspoken end to the sentence.

Piper faltered, foot coming down softly. “Oh.”

4009 was Connor, according to Jason. He wasn’t in his room, but they found him in the bathrooms, washing his face. Connor waved to them, at least, showing a sign of the Connor that Leo first met. Would they ever get back that Connor?

It made Leo think about changing. If he gets out, how could he go back to normal? How could he live the rest of his life knowing what transpired inside these walls?

Nico was 4011. He was in there, alright. Slammed the door in their faces and shouted, “GO AWAY!” Last time Leo will ever look for _his_ sorry ass again.

The floor underneath them was Leo’s floor. The first room was Octavian’s. He was very interested in their search, even though he probably just got out of bed.

“Did you find them?” Octavian’s hair was flattened against the left side of his head. He yawned, scratching at his bare arms. “Who was it?”

“If we knew, do you think we’d be looking?” Leo rolled his eyes.

Octavian was too tired to retort and waved his hand away. “I’ll figure it out later. Remember all the grisly details.”

Piper shivered when his door closed. “Are we sure Rachel was right about him? Everything is screaming that it’s him.”

“He’s just… precise,” Jason shivered as well. “Very precise.”

“Right, right,” Leo snapped his fingers, trying to remember, “Reyna’s chart said you knew each other! Friends, even.”

“We did student council together.” They passed by Leo’s room, and then the empty 3006. “Nothing special. Who’s this?”

“Harley,” Leo knocked. A few minutes later, Harley padded out, sleepy and with his shirt inside out.

“Good morning.” Harley waved with as much excitement as he could, then promptly stomped back to his bed and fell asleep again. Piper giggled to herself and closed the door.

The next room was Rachel’s, followed by Travis. Percy was afterward. He wasn’t in his room, but rather the one next to it which belonged to Grover. Annabeth was in the room as well. All three were fully dressed and bright-eyed for the day.

Annabeth didn’t look into their eyes. Her hands fiddled with the doorknob as if she was going to shut the door on them. “Hey.”

“Good morning,” Piper said. “We’re just giving the check for who’s here.”

“I figured,” Annabeth said. “I’m so sorry-”

“Tell them I’m here!” Percy’s voice called out from behind her.

“Me too…” Grover’s voice came as well, much softer than Percy’s.

Annabeth smiled at that and shook her head. “We should have a group meeting later. It’ll be easier since our numbers are going down, and we’ll be able to make better decisions.”

“Plus Rachel being the Oracle,” Jason added.

Leo gave Annabeth a thumbs up. “I’ll make it happen.”

“Thanks.”

The final floor. As they descended, Jason hesitated at the landing.

“What?” Leo stopped for him.

Jason shook his head, “No, it’s nothing.”

The first four rooms were out for obvious reasons (Annabeth, Bianca, Piper, Rachel), leaving 2009 to be Hazel. It was quiet between the three teens. They all knew who was left. Hazel, Thalia, or Reyna didn’t make it through the night. Leo didn’t want any of them to have died.

He was about to knock when Jason grabbed his hand. “Wait.”

“What?”

He pointed down the hall to the bathroom where Reyna just entered with a towel in hand. “Give me a second,” Jason hunched over, hands on his knees. His shoulders shook, and he breathed heavily.

“Dude, come on, I thought you were Mr. Athlethic-”

“Leo,” Piper cut him off. She dragged him away from Jason, who was focusing his breathing. “You _do_ realize it’s down to Hazel or Thalia. If it’s not Hazel, and if it’s not Reyna…”

Jason obviously heard them. He stood up straight, a pained look on his face. “Would it be bad for me to say I hope it’s Hazel? I don’t want Hazel to die, but...”

Leo pat Jason’s back. “Whatever happens, I’m with you.” He knocked on the door.

Ten seconds. It took ten seconds, for the door to open, and small Hazel to peek out with squinted eyes and braided hair.

“Fuck.” Jason hit his fist against the wall. “ _Damnit!_ ” He sunk down to the floor, cradling his head in his arms.

“Is he okay?” Hazel asked, hesitantly reaching out to comfort Jason. Leo shook his head.

“Don’t worry,” he offered his best reassuring smile. “Go back inside for now.”

Piper slid down next to Jason, murmuring sweet words while rubbing his shoulders. Jason was defeated, his entire body trembling. Leo couldn’t imagine.

His hands touched the cold knob. “I’m going to check it out. See what happened.”

“Are you sure?” Piper threw her other arm around Jason, so she was hugging her best friend. “You don’t have to.”

“No,” Leo swallowed. “I think I need to.” He pushed open the door and walked inside. The light flipped on.

Thalia gave up a fight. The entire room was trashed, covered in pillow stuffing and glass. Someone had thrown something into the TV, leaving the screen cracked with a glass shower surrounding it. The bed sheets were thrown across the room and papers were scattered everywhere.

She wasn’t on the bed. Leo walked around the room, stopping at the couch. Thalia lay across it like a punk rock princess who had played her final show.

She was relatively unharmed. There were scratches and bruises from fighting back, but Leo wasn’t a forensic scientist to be sure. Her face had been thoroughly punched and had grown swollen. Besides small tears at her clothes, the only thing troubling was the burn mark at her chest. The t-shirt was singed, creating a hole where her bosom was. Blisters surrounded her chest, except for the small circular point at her heart, displaying a third-degree burn.

On her wrist, underneath a silver charm bracelet, a similar burn circled her arm. Leo has noticed it earlier, but the room smelled like burnt hair and an even more poignant smell, that Leo feared was burnt flesh. He walked out of the room, seeing all he needed.

Leo sat on the other side of Jason. He didn’t say a word as Jason linked fingers with both Leo and Piper. Leo squeezed his hand, expecting a squeeze in return.

He received nothing but a slow whimper.

* * *

Annabeth and Leo rounded everyone up in the living room. They all spread out through the room, filling up the couches and recliners, and settling on the floor. Bianca’s armchair, the one she seemed to love, remained empty, whether from respect or wariness.

“Where’s Jason?” Octavian sat next to Leo on one of the couches.

“In his room.”

“Ah,” Octavian nodded. He was more sensitive than usual. Bless student council relationships. Octavian then addressed the group, “So you’re all suspects.”

Percy played with his zipper. “ _You’re_ the biggest suspect because you were the one arguing with Thalia last night.”

“According to _Rachel_ , the _Oracle_ , I’m in the clear.” Octavian countered snootily. “So you better protect me if you want to keep your numbers up.”

“Did you check?” Connor asked. He sat next to Grover wearing basketball shorts and v-neck. When eyes turned to him, Connor rolled his hand for the others to follow his thought process. “Did… Rachel check for Harley?”

Harley was laying on the floor when Connor brought up his name. The kid bit off the head of a graham cracker and stared at Rachel with curious eyes.

“Um,” Rachel’s eyes flitted over the kid, and her fingers were brought to her mouth, “He’s good.”

“Of course he is,” Leo couldn’t resist saying. He was still ticked off by the insinuation that Harley was anything _but_. “It shouldn’t have been questioned.”

“Leo, it’s just a caution,” Piper said. “Calm down.”

“There’s a lot of risk with our numbers dawdling,” Annabeth said with a soft voice. “We already have Rachel as the Oracle-” Rachel twitched, “-but there is still the Demigod and God roles left.”

“We don’t know what the God does,” Octavian added.

“Or Goddess.” When eyes turned to her, Piper shrugged. “You never know.”

“God or Goddess, it doesn’t matter cause we don’t know if they’re good or bad,” Connor groaned, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hands. “Why would they not tell us?”

“I don’t think it was on purpose,” Hazel guessed. She sat on the floor with her knees up, green shorts sliding to expose skin. Her hair had been divided into two puffs on the side of her head. Nico sat next to her, legs crossed and fully covered with heavy jeans and a long sleeved shirt. “The woman was explaining it when… _that_ happened.” She looked green, as she referred to what happened to Clarisse and Katie.

“They _did_ explain everything else,” Grover verified.

“Does it matter? As long as the Titan is voted out, we can get home.” Austin drummed his fingers against his knee. “I have a life outside of here that I need to get back to.”

“We all have lives,” Octavian muttered under his breath.

“ _Guyyyyyys_ ,” Percy huffed. “Isn’t the Demigod the best person to come out right now?”

“Is it even safe to come out?” Reyna’s eyebrows dipped. “Rachel took a giant risk when she claimed to be the Oracle.”

“I _am_ the Oracle,” Rachel scowled. Reyna's eyebrow's sunk even lower.

“How is the Demigod _good?_ ” Grover asked, speaking over Annabeth to address Percy. “Isn’t calling attention to yourself _bad?_ ”

“Well, like,” Percy sucked his teeth. “They’re like, this awesome guy who can’t die from the Titan. So they’re pretty much guaranteed to live until the end until they get voted out. But if you _say_ you’re the Demigod, that’s basically a Get Out of Jail Free Card, because no one’s gonna vote out the extra vote to help them nail someone.”

“Wow,” Annabeth’s hand was clasping Percy’s. “I didn’t think about that.”

“It’s weird though.” Percy continued. “The Demigod could’ve been Bianca, Frank, Katie or Clarisse before they got the chance to tell anyone. Or they’re still here and just, erm, won’t say anything.”

“Fine, then I’m the Demigod then,” Octavian said.

“You’re not,” Leo rolled his eyes.

“But there’s no way to check,” He sneered. “You just have to just trust me or face punishment for looking at my card.”

That was true. But now that Percy’s said it, _anyone_ can say they were the Demigod to ensure their own life. And there was no way to deny it. The _Titan_ could claim they were the Demigod to get out of being voted out and win this horrifying game.

Leo’s pulse quickened despite himself. He was nearly getting _excited_ from the complexity of it all. It was a puzzle that his mind was itching to solve. There were so many moving parts that Leo couldn’t wait to slide them all together.

“Are we able to look at the, uh, dead people’s cards?” Hazel wondered aloud. “We might be able to see if the Demigod might’ve been killed off earlier.”

“But it might be suicide because it’s still looking at someone else’s card,” Reyna sighed. She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs, eyes falling on the empty armchair that Bianca had previously haunted when she was with them. “I’m starting to believe that this is just an elaborate plan to torture us. There’s no meaning to any of it.”

An uncomfortable air settled over the group like a noxious cloud, suffocating and silent. Leo then jumped, slapping his head for forgetting. “Oh _duh!_ There’s something else! Me and Jason thought of it last night before we fell asleep- oh _sh-_ ” Harley looked up, “-crap! Two things actually!”

“ _What?_ ” Octavian grabbed Leo’s wrist to avoid getting hit in the face by flailing arms.

“Well, one, you don’t _have_ to be in your bedrooms after curfew. You just have to be in _a_ bedroom.”

“What do you mean?” Annabeth tucked a hair behind her ear. Most girls Leo knew had piercings, but Annabeth didn’t.

Leo felt a rush of embarrassment and heat flood over his face, “Um, me and Jason were both in my room last night. And nothing happened to him.”

“He could be the killer and let you off the hook,” Nico said from his dark, brooding corner. Hazel gasped with a “ _Nico!_ ”

“ _Possibly_ but I don’t think Jason would kill his own sister. They might not have been buddy-buddy, but they were still family.” Nico and Hazel shifted closer to each other at that, and Connor’s eyes fell to the floor.

“How _did_ she die, by the way?” Octavian propped his elbow on the armrest. “It might be a clue.”

“Or you’re just sick,” Austin said. “But going back to what Leo said might be good news. We can all sleep in one room and then whoever kills someone is the Titan.”

“No one’s going to be that stupid,” Connor elbowed Austin. “At least I hope not. Made us all suffer only to fuck up for a dumbass mistake.”

“But it _could_ save us another day,” Piper admitted. “It’s worth it having us all be safe for another night.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Annabeth said. “What was the other thing, Leo?”

“The other what? Oh-” Leo tried to figure out the best way to say it. “We all got a video a few days ago or something. And it made us really angry, right?”

“What about it?” Nico glowered.

Leo nearly facepalmed. _Of course!_ Leo did something to piss Nico off. He couldn’t tell what though- he hardly knew the guy. At the same time, Leo wasn’t able to recognize Katie in the beginning either. “Be right back.” He jumped on to his feet, wincing when he landed on his bad foot and hopped out of the room.

A few minutes later, Leo came back, out of breath with his notepad and pen. He pulled out the earlier notes he made with Jason:

_? - > Frank -> Octavian -> Reyna -> Jason ->?_  
_? - > Katie -> Leo -> ?_

“So here’s the list me and Jason were making. Frank annoyed Octavian, who annoyed Reyna, who annoyed Jason, who annoyed _someone_ here,” Leo scanned the group’s faces, pen sticking out, ballpoint hitting every head with wordless accusation. “And then somewhere up or down the line, Katie annoyed me, and I annoyed- now, this might be the craziest guess but, _hypothetically_ , Nico. Who in turn annoyed someone else.”

“So this is the blame game now?” Austin shook his head. “Childish.”

“Or it could be a _clue_ from _them_ ,” Leo gestured above their heads. They all knew who he was referring to. “Maybe the Titan is in with them and wants some revenge.”

“It feels like a witch hunt,” Someone mumbled, but Leo couldn’t figure out who. He pressed his lips together. He needed everyone’s participation to make this work, or else he’s grasping at straws. Leo was about to hit something big, he could _feel_ it.

“Whoever is at the top of the list is the killer,” Octavian sing-songed. He shrugged and sat back on the couch, disregarding the incredulous looks thrown at him “Doesn’t matter to me, I’ve already been called out.”

“But the person who angered you is also dead,” Reyna said. She didn’t look too happy at this situation, probably because she had been called out as well. Leo shrunk in his seat. He might’ve made himself a bigger target than he already was.

“Whatever.” Octavian’s body betrayed his casual tone. The hand between him and Leo and trembled ever so slightly.

“Well, if it helps, I’ll say that Austin was in my video,” Hazel offered softly. Austin stared at her like he had never seen her before.

“What did I do?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Hazel pulled on one of her curls. “Can someone else go? Maybe if someone got me? I’m sorry for whatever I did.”

“I didn’t get _her_ ,” Austin spat out, “but I got Will.”

“Okay, this is good.” Leo wrote it all down. “Anyone else?”

“I had Thalia,” Piper said from next to Leo’s ear. She leaned over him, watching him write. Leo took comfort from her closeness, feeling more secure it what he was doing. “Not sure who she got though.”

Too late to ask. He wondered how Jason was faring.

“What could you be mad at me for?” Austin urged Hazel. His hand tapped her shoulder.

“Nico,” Annabeth blurted. She tucked her legs underneath her on the other couch. “I had Nico.”

Nico stared back at her. Annabeth tugged on the hair band wrapped around her wrist. She nudged Percy who shrugged. “My video was Rachel because she-”

“I don’t care,” Leo cut him off. He didn’t say that the most gentle way he could but Leo  _didn’t_ care. It wasn’t important. What _was_ important was that Leo could find the beginning or end. “Rachel who did you get?”

“Annabeth.”

“Connor?”

“... My brother.”

Grover cleared his throat. He thumbed back to himself. “Percy.”

Percy threw him a look over Annabeth. “Dude.”

“ _Sorry_ ,” Grover shrugged.

“That’s pretty much everyone,” Leo recapped his pen, staring at his work. It wasn’t the best, but it was good enough.

 

“Hey, Harley, bud,” Leo called out. He gestured for the boy to get closer, and Harley crawled on his knees. “Did you get a video the other day? Who was it of?”

Harley thought and spoke, crumbs brushing off his mouth. “Piper. She was friends with my brother and made him mad. He missed my birthday party!”

“Know what he’s talking about?” Leo murmured over his shoulder, as he added Harley’s name to the chart.

“Faintly. It’s what I want to talk to you about.” Piper said. “In private.”

“Let me see,” Octavian grabbed the paper. “... This means nothing. A false lead.”

“No, we just need to figure out where everyone else goes and link it all together,” Leo explained. “Maybe we can check the rooms to see if their videos are left behind.”

“And if they’re not?” Rachel asked.

Leo shrugged. He was depending on them still existing so anything else would be… bad.

“Who knows how long that’s going to take. My video was an hour long,” Percy said. “If the rest take that long, how are we supposed to vote tonight?”

Rachel flushed, “Really? Sorry.”

“It’s cool,” Percy dismissively waved his hand, “I get it.”

“ _Leeeeeeeets_ ,” Octavian drum rolled on his knees, “go wiiiiiiiiiiithhhhh-” his eyes darted around each face until he stopped his movements. Leo held his breath, “ _Nico_.”

“What.” Hazel’s mouth dropped. “ _Why?_ ”

“‘Cause he lied,” Octavian shrugged. “He said he didn’t know Bianca, but they have the same last name.”

“Di Angelo isn’t _that_ common,” someone, maybe Connor or Grover offered. Murmurs of agreement spread through the room. Leo didn’t even remember Bianca’s last name, nor did he know how Octavian knew it was also Nico’s.

“It’s a coincidence,” Hazel defended him. Her lip quivered as she stood. “I already _told_ you- Nico and Bianca aren’t related!”

“Even if they weren’t related, Leo brought up his relationship with Will earlier,” Reyna said. “He never showed any remorse about Will…”

Finally speaking, Nico stood up with Hazel, “I don’t have to show my feelings to everyone to mourn. Why would my _boyfriend_ be the first one I kill anyway? Fuck you.”

He snatched Hazel’s wrist and stormed out the room. Austin hesitantly got up to follow them, leaving the living room quiet.

“I’m going to my room,” Percy yawned with a wide stretch. “Gotta sleep before the vote. Who knows what time they’ll call us.” Yeah. They haven’t been called consistently at the right times. Leo’s neck hairs stood up at the thought- any moment could be his last.

He stuffed his paper in his pocket and elbowed Piper. “Want to go check on Jay?”

“Yeah,” Piper nodded. “Let’s me at my room in ten? Two-Double O-Five?”

“Sure,” Leo wandered into the kitchen. Rachel was digging around in the fridge, talking to herself. She abruptly straightened and turned to Leo.

“Hey.” Rachel grabbed an orange. She quickly began peeling it without taking her eyes off Leo.

“Hey.” Leo reached past her for the box of cereal sitting on top of the fridge. He took a bowl and shook some of the breakfast out. “Do you know who you’re voting for tonight?”

“I want to say Nico, but I’m not sure,” Rachel sat on the kitchen island. “He’s my friend.”

“Oh. How’d you become friends?”

“Through this,” She sighed.

“This?”

“The game,” Rachel said. “I don’t know him very well, but lying makes sense. I would do anything to stay in the game.”

Leo nodded, not quite following where she was going, “I think most people are going to vote for Nico since there’s no one else in question. Maybe Octavian again?”

“Really?” Rachel brought an orange slice to her mouth. “I would never vote for Octavian.”

“You… _wouldn’t?_ ”

“No. He’s too smart.” Rachel licked the juices trailing down her fingertips. “A lot of what he says is nonsense, but it somehow makes sense.”

Leo somehow agreed. “Did you know him _before_ coming here?”

“Um,” Rachel thought, sucking on a slice. “I don’t think so. Maybe we bumped in the hallway once or twice, but I wouldn’t call it _knowing_ each other.”

“Yeah.” Leo swirled his finger in the bowl. “Well, I gotta jet. See ya at the vote?” Rachel saluted him away. As he left, he heard her talking again, no doubt engaging with someone else.

Rachel was an interesting person. From what he could remember from class, she was very into paint and charcoal. Her hair was a natural bright red, her eyebrows and eyelashes both brownish. Leo never really talked to her before all this happened. Funny- it took a life-death situation to become friends with someone.

Piper wasn’t in her room, so Leo he sat outside her door. Only for Octavian to bolt out of the room over and blindly trip over Leo’s outstretched feet.

“ _Shit_ ,” Something popped open and white pills scattered across the floor, as Octavian rolled onto his knee. He muttered to himself, quickly scooping up the capsules and dropping them back into an orange bottle.

“Fucking…,” Octavian huffed and glared at Leo. “Why could you _possibly_ be sitting in the middle of the hallway?”

“Uh, you’re the one who was in someone else’s room. That’s rude.” Leo accused. He peeked at the bottle in his hand, “And you stole her meds? That’s even worse. Who’s room was it?”

“Rachel’s,” Octavian said. “Give me your notebook for a second.”

“Um-” Octavian snatched it anyway and scribbled something down. He jogged back to Rachel’s room.

 _Haloperidol_.

“What is this?” Leo asked when he came back. Octavian tore the page from his notebook.

“Don’t know yet, and I’m going to ask around.” He said. “Crazy girl is a liar and apparently hyped up on medication too.”

“Hey, you don’t know that.” Leo needed to defend her, didn’t he? Rachel was a friend.

“Except I do.” Octavian sighed. He narrowed his eyes, glancing up and down the hallway. “I _suppose_ I can tell you.”

“Tell me what?” Octavian? Divulging in secrets? He was one of the people Leo trusted- okay, that was a bit of a stretch, but Leo didn’t mind hearing his thoughts on anything. Accusations aside of course.

Octavian squatted in front of Leo, getting close. Leo crossed his legs and sat up straight. Whatever it was, it was serious.

“Rachel’s not the Oracle.”

What?

“She’s not the Oracle,” Octavian spat out. “Because _Reyna_ is.”

_What?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have to start studying for my ap exams which are in like two days, so i'll be on and off

**Author's Note:**

> thank you, and have a good day! :) my tumblr is [here!](https://capolleon.tumblr.com/)
> 
> as always, i'll answer all comments/questions/thoughts/feelings/theories! but, uh, cause some parts of this _is_ a mystery i'm gonna have to be very choosy with how i answer to theories lol (cause you all know i love blabbering). don't hesitate to hmu if you have questions or think you know who's who :D
> 
> (if you have gore tips, lol PUHLEASE help, im trying :') )


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